


Love, Family, and Pawprints: Harry is given a family

by TheMoon_TheStars_TheInBetween



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Minerva McGonagall Raises Harry Potter, Multi, Raising Harry Potter, Remus Lupin Lives, Remus Lupin Raises Harry Potter, Rescuing Harry Potter, Sirius Black Lives, Sirius Black Raises Harry Potter, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28665525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMoon_TheStars_TheInBetween/pseuds/TheMoon_TheStars_TheInBetween
Summary: Leaving Harry with the Dursley's never sat right with Minerva. When she decides to observe 4 Privet Drive, she realizes that Harry can't stay there. Instead of just running away with him, she is able to get custody of him. How will this change their lives?
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 52
Kudos: 120





	1. Rescuing Harry

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I hope you enjoy my first attempt at fanfiction. Sirius/Remus will come into play a little bit later. The first couple chapters will center around gaining custody of Harry and setting up a new life for him. 
> 
> *Takes place on 7/1/1984*
> 
> *Disclaimer - All things from the Harry Potter universe are owned by JKR.

Reluctantly, Minerva walked away from 4 Privet drive. She knew this wasn’t the right decision. She knew that Harry wouldn’t be loved or safe there. Maybe safe from wizards, but she had observed these people. They were horrible. She decided right then that she wasn’t going to stay away. She would observe Harry as much as she could. 

Every summer since that fateful night that the wizarding world was saved and a young boy lost his family, a curious looking cat, with markings around its eyes that looked mysteriously like glasses, would find its way to Privet Drive. The cat seemed to enjoy watching a family in a particular house. In the cat’s opinion, one boy was ignored far too much. The other was fed too often and spoiled. 

This summer marks the 3rd summer that Harry had been living with his relatives. He was small, too small for his age, and seemed to be given many chores to keep him busy compared to the other child. The cat with the strange markings essentially lived in the back garden, as it seemed the almost 4 year old child’s summer chore was to remove weeds from the garden. The cat heard the small child sniffle. She didn’t like the sound of that. She made her way to where the young boy was and saw that he was crying. He perked up at the sight of the cat and reached to pet it. Strangely, the cat took to him right away. Young Harry was so busy playing with his new friend, he didn’t realize that an irate man was standing over him until he heard the cat hiss. 

“Boy!” yelled the man as he grabbed the 3 year old up by his arm, “what do you think you are doing?”

“ ‘M sorry, Uncle Vernon! Nice kitty came to play. Can we keep?” asked the 3 year old with more maturity than you would normally see in one his age. 

Vernon’s face turned purple, “What makes you think we can take care of a bloody cat? We are already stuck with you. You take up enough space as it is. We will call the pound and have them put down the bloody cat,” he stopped and turned to Harry, who had silent tears streaking down his face, “Boy! What did it tell you about crying? If you insist on crying I will give you something to cry about.” The cat had seen enough. 

“Unhand that child!” stated the cat, well, woman. While the look she had given Vernon could be described as burning a hole in his head, the one she gave to the child was filled with warmth, concern, and love. “Harry, dear, would you like to come with me? My name is Minerva. I knew your Mummy and Daddy.”

Harry looked up at his cat, well woman, with astonishment, “Kitty? I can live with you? Let’s go!” He held his hand out to his cat. “You be kitty again?”

“Well, I can be, as you say, a kitty whenever I want. Do you understand?” she doubted he did, but didn’t really know of another way to describe the situation to the almost 4 year old standing in front of her. 

His thought on this. His green eyes bright with questions and confusion. “No. But that okay. I like you as person too,” he said with such conviction that it made her smile. He looked so much like his father. 

“Well, how about we pack your things and I contact some friends of mine to help us?” she had crouched down to her level to say this. 

“Okay!” He replied, and started to lead her inside. Minerva stopped and sent off patronuses to a few different people asking them to meet her here in order to help her gain custody of Harry. 

Vernon realizing what was happening, “Hold on. Hold on a damn second. What gives you the right to come here and start to change things?” he spluttered. 

Harry had started to hide behind his kitty, he didn’t understand how she could be a person too, but she was going to give him a new home, so he wouldn’t complain. Vernon was standing between them and the door to go into the house. “I was under the impression that you had mistakenly told this child that he was a waste of space. I am just giving you a different option. Well, I say option, what I really mean is that I am taking him,” Minerva was not going to back down. It was obvious that not enough people put this man in his place. 

“You- you- you can’t take him,” a new voice joined in. She was holding a letter out with shaking hands. Minerva thought this was more due to anger than fear. Minerva took the letter and read it. 

“Albus, will get over it. I will not allow Harry to be mistreated any longer. What I witnessed today was the end of it,” she handed the letter back to Petunia. “Now if you do not mind, I would like to get Harry packed before my guests arrive.” As the couple moved aside she gently took Harry’s hand and led him inside. 

“Guests?” sputtered Vernon. “This is our house, and freaks like you and the boy cannot have guests of your kind here.”

“I indeed said guests!” Harry was nervously peeking out from behind her. “In order for me to gain proper custody of him, there are certain things that must be done. I will not risk him being brought back to live with you,” she glanced down at Harry and found him staring up at her with excitement and disbelief in his eyes. She doubted that he had ever had anyone express any sort of interest in him. “Harry, can you lead me to your room so we can get your things?” They stopped in front of a cupboard and she watched with horror in her eyes as he opened the door. “Harry, dear,” she was trying to keep her anger and disbelief out of her voice, “do you sleep here?” As he nodded yes, she saw a pile of old blankets and an old pillow. “Why don’t you get the things you want to take with you and place it in this bag,” she transfigured his pillow into a backpack. Just then, the doorbell rang. 

Petunia nervously opened the door to find two people standing there. “Hello, my name is Amelia Bones. I am the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. With me is Alastor Moody, he is one of our top Aurors, or rather detective if I am to use a muggle term. We are here to assist Minerva.” Petunia just stared at the man named Alastor. He looked grim, with his prosthetic leg, magical eye and scars all over his face. “May we come in,” prompted Amelia. Alastor decided that Petunia, who was frozen where she stood, was taking too long and pushed past her. Amelia looked at the woman in front of her and gave her a small smile. “Please excuse him, he has no manners.”

“I can’t help that the damn woman was taking too long!” Alastor yelled. Harry was eyeing him with curiosity. While the man in the hallway was loud and gruff, he didn’t seem as mean as Uncle Vernon, so by his standards this man was okay. “Minerva, what are you doing in front of the cupboard? I thought we were getting Harry and leaving?”

Minerva took a deep breath “This is Harry’s room. Isn’t it wonderful. He has some very nice drawings in here,” she smiled down at Harry. He beamed up at her. He had never received a compliment like that before. 

Alastor just stared and gave a grunt. He didn’t want to scare the young boy by yelling at his aunt and uncle. Amelia spoke up, “Why don’t we go into the living room and have a conversation, hmm?” She was having issues controlling her anger. Honestly, who puts a child that age in a cupboard? The house could easily have 3 or 4 bedrooms. “Harry, could you go wash up before we leave? We just want to have a conversation with your aunt and uncle.”

Harry looked at his feet, trying to stop himself from crying, of course they wouldn’t want him if he was dirty. He shook his head, “Not bath day.” He was afraid to look at the adults around him. 

“I think your aunt will make an exception for today since you worked so hard in the garden,” replied Minerva, her voice was kind but there was fire in her eyes. “Right, Petunia.”

Petunia had enough intelligence to not say anything but just nod her head. “See, Harry. Do you need any help?” asked Amelia.

“No. I can do it,” Harry made his way to the bathroom. He was excited. It has been a few days since his last bath and he had to work in the back garden all week. 

Once Harry was out of earshot, Minerva, Amelia, and Alastor turned to look at Vernon and Petunia. Petunia was clutching her child to her chest like she would never see him again. Alastor rolled his eyes. “Okay,” stated Amelia. “I have a statement from Minerva that will allow me to take Harry from your custody. Now, if you contest, I will have to bring in the Muggle authorities to do a thorough investigation. Since the only thing your child is endangered of is being spoiled, then I don’t see the need to do that. If you sign here, this states that you give up all rights to Harry, we will handle everything else on our end.”

Vernon was the first to speak. “Fine,” he was eyeing the wizard cop with fear and disgust “if we sign this will you leave and never come back? I am tired of the freak being here, and I could do with never seeing your lot again.”

“Fantastic, I do have one more thing to add,” as she stared at him his veins turned to ice. “You are lucky that I am here in an official capacity. Children should never be treated as you have treated that young boy.” With that Amelia left the room, and stared at the seasons Auror “Alastor, you cannot hex them.” He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like ‘bloody woman,’ and walked away from the Dursley’s to wait with his boss for Harry and Minerva. 

Minerva was the last to leave the room. “You are very lucky that the only thing that is happening is that we are taking him with us.”

At that moment Harry made his way downstairs and made his way to stand by Minerva. “Kitty,” she raised her eyebrows, “Sorry, I forgot.” he looked at his shoes.

“That’s quite alright. You may call me Aunt Kitty or Aunt Minnie if you would like,” she told Harry with a hint of fondness that many would not think the stern looking professor was capable of. 

“Okay,” agreed Harry. “We go?” Minerva nodded. “Really?” he asked excitedly.

“Yes. You are going to come live with me,” she explained. Harry still had some dirt on him, but a quick scourgify would take care of that. 

“Where?” he asked as the odd group made their way out of 4 Privet Drive to the street. Amelia had a car waiting for them. 

“Well, Harry, we have to take care of a couple things. Before we get you and your Aunt Kitty home we are going to make sure that you never have to go back to your Aunt and Uncle’s home. Do you mind if I make your clothes fit you better?” Harry indicated that it would be okay and Amelia made Harry’s size too large worn out clothes into something that actually fit. She repeated a similar process with his shoes. “There! Much better,” she smiled at Harry warmly. 

Amelia turned to Minerva, “I trust that you two will be able to get home safely? I want to go file this paperwork with the ministry. I suggest that you go to Gringotts and contact a barrister to see about solidifying custody. This paperwork will only guarantee you to have temporary custody. Before I left the ministry, I discovered that the Potter’s will was never read.” They arrived at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. “If you run into any issues, let me know.” Minerva nodded in response, and she and Harry exited the car. 

“Harry,” Minerva began, “the first place we are going is going to look very scary since you have never been there before. The people that work there look a lot different from us. I would like you to remember to not point and stare, can you do that for me?” Harry nodded. “Good!” They made their way through the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley. 

They made their way through the shopping area to Gringott’s. Minerva was holding a tired Harry in her arms. “We are looking to speak to someone about the Potter accounts and will,” she told the goblin who was at the counter. The goblin nodded and asked her to take a seat. Harry had fallen asleep in her arms, which made the strict professor give a slight smile. She fixed his hair to cover his scar to make him a little more inconspicuous. “Sir,” she said to get the attention of the goblin closest to her, “would it be okay if i used my wand to send a message to an associate of mine. I am going to need some assistance.”

The goblin eyed her suspiciously. He glanced at his superior, who nodded as they had dealt with the witch in the past and deemed her trustworthy, for a human. The goblin nodded their head, and Minerva sent a patronus off to her attorney asking them to meet her at the bank. 

As the Potter account manager was calling her back, her attorney walked in the building. “Andromeda, how are you?” asked Minerva. 

“I am doing well Minerva. How are you?” replied at Andromeda. She stared curiously at the child in Minerva’s arms. “Who might this be?”

“I’ll explain later,” Minerva responded. 

As they entered the room, Blordak spoke “No pleasantries. Let’s just get to business,” he eyed the witches who were sitting in front of him. When they didn’t object, he continued. “We have a copy of the Potter’s will. I’m surprised it has taken this long for someone to come and see about it. In the order listed, the following people are in line to have custody of Harry Potter should anything happen to his parents Alice Longbottom, Sirius Black, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, or Andromeda Tonks. The child should never go to his muggle relatives,” Blordak stopped there.

Andromeda took this moment to speak up, “Do you know why the will was never read prior to this?”

“No, and we will not meddle in wizarding affairs. I am merely here to present the facts,” Minerva nodded to indicate that she understood. At this time, an official ministry document appeared on Blordak’s desk. “This states that one Minerva McGonagall has temporary custody of the child in question. Do you need access to the vault that was set aside for his care?”

“No, not at this time. Once I am able to obtain full custody of Harry, I would like to get an overview of everything. Do you know there are any properties in their real estate portfolio that would be livable? I would like to explore that as an option once Harry permanently lives with me.”

“Of course, once we have documentation that identifies you as his official guardian, this can be arranged. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Is it possible for me to get a copy of the will as well as the notice of the temporary custody notice?” asked Andromeda. She wanted to make sure everything was covered. Blordak nodded and waved his hands over the requested documents, then passed the documents to her. 

“If that will be all, I ask that you follow Mordak out. My next appointment is due to arrive soon.”

The witches followed directions and walked out into the lobby. “Minerva,” said Andromeda with wide eyes, “you could have given me some warning.”

The older witch chuckled, “If you don’t mind, let’s discuss this back at your office.” Andromeda nodded, and the 3 of them headed towards Andromeda’s office. “I can’t believe he slept through all of this,” stated Andromeda as she watched her former professor lay the child gently down on her office couch. 

“I recall that James could sleep through anything as well,” recalled Minerva fondly. “ I know you have a lot of questions. I didn’t get a chance to explain what happened today.” Andromeda listened as she was told about the process of the young boy being removed from his aunt and uncle’s home. 

“Wow, I never imagined that he would be mistreated. I knew he was being hidden, but I had always thought whoever had hid him, had just done an amazing job,” she stared at the young boy sadly. “I don’t understand how people can treat a child so poorly.”

“I know. It took everything I had to walk out of there without cursing them into next month,” Minerva replied. She took out a quill and some parchment and scribbled some information on a note. “Can you get this letter to Remus Lupin for me? I think he deserves a chance to be in Harry’s life, and I think that I am going to need some help.” Andromeda took the letter from her professor, “Now I am off to yell at Albus,” Minerva picked up Harry, said goodbye to Andromeda, and made use of Andromeda’s floo to get to Hogsmeade. 

Minerva made it back to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, and immediately ran into the headmaster “Oh, Minerva!” Albus exclaimed. “What have you done?” He looked at his Deputy Headmistress and the child she was holding. 

She gave him an icy stare. “We will talk in a moment, Albus. I am going to get young Harry settled, and I will meet you in your office to discuss what’s going to happen from here going forward.” She walked away from him, and made her way to the living quarters that she used during the school year. She summoned two of the castle's elves and requested that they call her if Harry woke up, she was amazed that he was still sleeping. 

On his way to his office, the headmaster ruminated on the plans that he had that were going to be ruined if he couldn’t convince Minerva that the child was better off where he was. He made it to his office, and sat behind his desk. He didn’t know how he would adjust if she wouldn’t listen to him. He looked up when he heard her enter the room. “Albus, he is not going back! I will not allow him to be raised with those awful people.”

“Minerva, you just don’t understand why it is necessary. It is a small sacrifice for the greater good. Harry would grow up just fine living there,” he explained to the witch who looked like she wanted to hex him. 

“The greater good?!?!” she exclaimed. “Albus, after what I observed today, the best we could have hoped for when he came to us is a young boy who was never loved, taught nothing of his family, and felt that he was a waste of space! How on earth can you condone that?” She was gripping her wand tightly. 

“Minerva, please, calm down. I will explain everything,” he stated calmly. 

“No, you can’t explain this. I should have never let you leave him there. You should look for a replacement for me. I do not plan on returning for the new term,” with that, the former Deputy Headmistress turned to leave the room. 

Albus couldn’t believe what he was hearing, Minerva, leaving! He couldn’t allow that to happen. He could tell there was no convincing her to go with his original plan. He had to do something; he was pretty sure that obliviating her was out of the question. “Wait,” she stopped, “I will help you gain official custody of the boy. I am sure we can find a way where you don’t have to leave.” He had to think fast, “What about Remus?”

“You don’t actually think I had planned on keeping Harry away from him did you? I have already taken measures to gain temporary custody. Amelia knows what Harry’s home life was like, she will not allow him to go back. I have a plan, and at this point, I really don’t need your help,” Minerva replied, giving her Headmaster a hard look. “I have one question for you: why was it the Potter’s will was never read?”

Albus paled, “I didn’t think it was pertinent at the time. Harry would have been safer with his muggle relatives than anyone else.”

Minerva just stared at him. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Safe? He wasn’t safe there. Maybe you put some enchantments on the home to make it hard for people who mean him hard to find him, but I guarantee you, the anger that I saw today, would have lead to physical abuse. The poor child was terrified of them.” 

Albus shivered under the icy glare being sent his way. Right now, he just needed a plan to make sure his Transfiguration professor didn’t leave. He relied on her too much; not to mention that she would most likely be given permanent custody of the child who will determine the fate of the wizarding world. “What can I do to convince you to stay?”

Minerva thought for a moment. “Okay, here’s what needs to happen. I will be home Friday nights and will return to Monday morning. I shall attend all House quidditch games, and have an additional night every week to spend at home, this can be arranged based on the Full Moon schedule.” she paused in order to gauge how Albus was taking her demands. “ You must make arrangements during those nights. Once he begins school, we will revisit this discussion and can consider returning things to how they were before,” she finished. 

“That sounds reasonable,” replied Albus. “Have you given thought to where you will live?” 

She stared at the Headmaster, the man was being awfully thick. “No, I didn’t think of that,” her frustration was evident in her voice. “I am not homeless, Albus. I have a suitable place to live that will work for the time being. I have a few options for the future, and I hope that Remus will be willing to help with that decision. This conversation is over. I am going to collect Harry, and we will be on our way.” 

He watched her walk out. He had to figure out how to fix his ruined plans.


	2. Remus and his professor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! I don't have a posting schedule worked out, but I plan on posting at least once a week. I finished this chapter a little sooner so I figured I would post it :)
> 
> Takes place from 7/2/1984 to 7/9/1984

Remus sat in his living room thinking about what he was going to do next. He lost his most recent job, and while he had some money put back for times like this, he wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Bad days like this, he started to think about the people who were taken from his life. He poured himself a drink and took a sip. The cheap liquor burned but it was better than nothing. He sat there feeling down and sorry for himself, and wondering why he continued to try and live a normal life. It’d probably be easier if he gave in and went to live with one of the packs. He knew that wasn’t the life for him, but he missed his friends, his family. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. 

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, it was dark, and an owl was tapping at his window. He thought that was odd, but opened the window to take the letter and give the animal a piece of the sandwich he was eating earlier. The owl didn’t seem like they were going to leave until a response was given. 

He opened the letter, and realized why he thought the writing looked familiar. It was from his former head of house. 

_Remus,_

_I hope this finds you well. If you could, I would like to meet with you tomorrow at my home in Hogsmeade at 10 am. I have a matter of importance to discuss with you. I don’t dare disclose more in this letter. Please send your response back with the owl. She will wait for your response._

_-Minerva McGonagall ___

__He sat there for a moment trying to figure out what she could need from him. Well, he didn’t have anything else to do, so he penned his response and sent it back with the owl. Hopefully it isn’t something bad. He didn’t have anyone left, so it couldn’t be about that. Suddenly an awful thought occurred to him. He hadn’t thought of his best friend's son in so long. Not because he didn’t care, but it just hurt to think about him. To think about the life they should have had. To think about what was stolen; to think about the betrayal. He had always known that he wouldn’t have a normal life, but he at least thought that his friends would be there with him. He downed the rest of the glass, and decided that he should just go to bed, rather than have another glass._ _

__The next morning, Remus left to meet his former professor. He was nervous, he had no idea what she wanted to discuss with him. He apparated into Hogsmeade and made his way to the small cottage that the professor called home during the summer. He knocked on the door and smiled at her when she opened it. Quickly, he noticed the young boy sitting on the floor drawing on some parchment._ _

__“Professor, how…” he stopped and stared at the young boy who was sitting as close as he could to the professor. “Is that… That’s… Harry?” The last time he saw Harry was Christmas of 1980, right after that he was back in his undercover work with the packs. He sat down. His eyes filled with tears and his chest felt tight. He never expected to see Harry again._ _

__“Harry,” Minerva started, the young boy looked up from his pages, “I would like to introduce you to Remus Lupin. He was a friend of your parents.” The young boy's eyes grew wide._ _

__“Hi, Harry. I am happy to see you again. The last time I saw you was when you were just a baby,” Remus was struggling keeping the tears from streaming down his face._ _

__Harry’s green eyes grew large. He wasn’t used to people being happy to have him around. “Hi,” replied the toddler shyly. He went back to his drawing in order to let the adults talk. He knew from his aunt and uncle that he was supposed to sit, behave, and pretend like he didn’t exist._ _

__“Professor, not that I don’t appreciate you letting me see him. Might I ask what it is you need from me?” Remus inquired. He didn’t like to feel suspicious of the woman sitting in front of him, but in his life, typically everything came with a catch._ _

__“Please, Remus, call me Minerva. I am no longer your professor,” she smiled and explained the events that led to Harry living with her. “I would like you to help me raise Harry,” she watched as he suppressed a surprised smile and just stared at her. “I can think of no one better. Harry deserves to have as many people as possible in his life who love him and who can tell him stories of his parents.”_ _

__Remus sat there in stunned silence, barely registering what he was hearing. “Prof..” a stern look stopped him, “Minerva, as much as I would love to say yes, I am too dangerous to be around him.”_ _

__She rolled her eyes. “So he’s in danger right now? Remus, while one night of the month, you are extremely dangerous. The rest of the time you are no more dangerous than anyone else. Harry deserves to have you in his life. What’s more, you deserve to have Harry in your life. I would like you to consider living with us,” she paused and knew he was going to interrupt before she had a chance to finish. “Before you object, Harry will be needing a tutor as well as someone to be with him during the school year. I think James and Lily would agree with me in think that you would be the best option. While living with us isn’t any sort of requirement, I do think it would be nice if you did. I will be looking for some place else to live. This cottage is too small, and has too many memories. Plus, I would like Harry to be around other children ” Remus thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, Harry looked scared at the mention of other children._ _

__“I’m honored that you think so highly of me,” Remus was going to say more, but was interrupted by someone knocking on the door._ _

__Minerva got up to answer the door, “Andromeda, thank you for coming. Harry, I will be right in the kitchen. If you need something, you can ask Remus, or come and get me. Okay?” The toddler nodded and decided to start drawing a new picture. Remus sat just watching Harry draw._ _

__“My mum and dad left,” stated Harry while he was concentrating on his picture._ _

__Remus was taken back by this. How could he explain this to a kid? “They didn’t want to leave you. They loved you so much. I remember how excited they were when they found out about you. They couldn’t wait to meet you, and after they met you, you were all they could talk about. You were their favorite person. Do you understand?”_ _

__“Um,” Harry was thinking about that. His aunt and uncle told him that his parents died and would never come back. He really didn’t know what that meant, but this man is much nicer than his aunt and uncle. He figured that he could trust him. Harry nodded his head to let Remus know that he understood._ _

__In the kitchen, Minerva and Andromeda were talking about the next steps for her to gain permanent custody of Harry. “Family proceeding isn’t normally something that I do, but I have a colleague who I trust to help me. I spoke with Amelia, and due to Harry’s status in the wizarding world, this case will be special. Everyone is going to try and have a say in the outcome. Everyone who thinks they have a claim will attempt to get custody. In order to stop that, we will do a public reading of the will. While people might still try and fight, there will essentially be no one who can contest,” she paused. “Except, Sirius remains Harry’s godfather. If Walburga wanted to contest it, it would result in a more drawn out custody process. I have already spoken to Augusta Longbottom, she let me know that they wouldn’t contest you having custody of Harry, although she did ask that Harry and Neville spend time together.”_ _

__“What can we do about the Black family?” Minerva asked. She almost asked Andromeda what she would do about her family, but she knew that Andromeda hadn’t any contact with her family since she ran away and got married._ _

__“Sirius being imprisoned obviously works in our favor, and my family is traditionally a dark family. So it is highly unlikely that anything they try will work, but even so we want to be prepared. When I spoke to Amelia, she suggested that we review his arrest, sentencing and prison records. We are going to meet later this week to start that process.” Andromeda’s stomach was in knots. She tried not to think of her cousin, but there was no way not to right now. She remembered how excited he was when Harry was born. The little boy was his world. She still had trouble believing that he did everything they said he did. She couldn’t think about that now. Her job was to make sure that this custody case went smoothly._ _

__“Thank you,” said Minerva._ _

__Andromeda nodded. “Once we are able to confirm your permanent custodianship of Harry, then you can go view the properties. There are three properties listed: Potter Manor, Potter Cottage and then a rental property that is currently empty. The account manager has agreed to leave it empty until you are able to tour the properties and decide which option will be the best for you. We know Potter Cottage isn’t livable. Potter Manor might be, but no one has been there since 1979. The Goblins believe that the last house elf had died just before Fleamont did. I was told that the rental property is probably the best option. It has plenty of space and expansive grounds, and it happens to be near the Longbottoms.” They made their way back to the living room and saw Remus on the floor next to Harry drawing with him. Harry was laughing at Remus’ drawing._ _

__“Aunt Kitty,” Remus looked at Minerva with a glint of mischief in his eyes upon hearing what Harry had taken to call his former professor, “I stay with you?” He was eyeing Remus suspiciously. Remus may have broken the ice with Harry, but he still had a ways to go to fully win the boys trust._ _

__“Of course Harry, we were just talking about where we are going to live in the future. My house is okay for now, but I think it might be nice for you to live near some kids and have a nice big yard to play in. Don’t you think?”_ _

__Harry thought for a second, “Dudley is mean. He bites. He hits too,” he said sadly._ _

__“Harry,” said Remus kindly, “not all kids are like that. Most of them are actually quite nice.”_ _

__“Remus is right, but we don’t have to worry about that right now. I have someone else to officially introduce you to. This is Andromeda.”_ _

__“Harry, it’s nice to officially meet you,” while she had seen him just yesterday, he was asleep._ _

__“Your name is Anromea?” Harry asked._ _

__She chuckled, “It’s kind of hard to pronounce isn’t it? You can call me Andy.”_ _

__“Andy. Can you and Remy be a kitty too?” he looked disappointed when the both shook their heads no. “I want to,” Harry sounded determined. The adults smiled at him as he went back to his drawing._ _

__“Would the two of you like to stay for lunch?” Minerva asked the adults in the room. Remus nodded. He wasn’t going to pass up spending time with Harry._ _

__“Unfortunately, I have to go back to the office. I will reach out to you after I meet with Amelia next week to go over those files. Remus, it was nice to see you again,” they said their goodbyes._ _

__“Harry, what would you like for lunch?” Minerva asked the toddler._ _

__He looked at her with wide eyes. Then he looked down at his drawing, “ ‘m okay. Not hungry.”_ _

__“Well, I am very hungry, and I can hear Remus’ stomach growling from here. Would you like to keep us company? You can bring your drawings with you.” Harry nodded at her._ _

__They made their way to the kitchen, and Remus assisted Minerva in laying out some different choices for sandwiches. They put some fruit and crisps out as well. “Harry, would you like some juice?” He nodded yes, and Minerva placed juice in front of him as well as a plate with various options since she was unsure what he liked._ _

__Harry just stared at the plate and watched as the grown ups started to eat. He tried to draw some more to distract himself from being hungry. Tears started to form in his eyes. “Harry,” said Minerva kindly, she had a feeling she knew what was wrong. “I want you to know that you never have to worry about being a burden here or anywhere else. You don’t have to worry about me not wanting you.” Harry reached for some of the food in front of him and slowly began to eat. “Whenever you are hungry, I would like for you to tell me. Okay?” Harry nodded his head and continued eating._ _

__Remus saw red and was attempting to hide it. Why would Harry not want to eat? He knew from what Minerva had told him that the Dursley’s hated Harry and let him know it, but did they really not let him eat when he was hungry?_ _

__After lunch, they decided that it was time to go outside. It took a little bit of time to go outside, because Harry kept trying to clean up the dishes. He watched in amazement when the mess was gone and dishes were clean with just a couple of flicks of a wand._ _

__Minerva sat out the patio with her tea watching the young man in front of her patiently play with the toddler. It was obvious that Harry didn’t know how to play. She watched as Harry followed Remus’ lead while playing with the toy cars. Eventually, Harry got tired of that and decided that he wanted to draw some more. They made their way back inside._ _

__"I can't thank you enough for this," Remus felt as though he was given a little piece of his family back._ _

__“You have nothing to thank me for. I want Harry to have a family, and you were always meant to be a part of that,” she smiled sadly thinking of everything that was taken away from the young man in front of her. “I would like for you to come by as often as you’d like. If I had more space, I would invite you to stay with us now, but my door will always be open to you.”_ _

__“I appreciate that Minerva. A chance to watch Harry grow, to learn,” Remus smiled. “But I don’t want him to know about what I am. I don’t want him to be afraid of me,” he stared off thinking sadly._ _

__“That’s your decision. Although, you will have to tell him one day,” she understood his reluctance. Right now the most important thing was for them to teach Harry that he is loved and safe._ _

__Remus stayed for dinner, and afterward he told Harry stories about his parents. It was bittersweet. He avoided thinking about his friends as much as he could. It was just too hard, but with Harry watching him, his green eyes wide with excitement, Remus couldn’t be sad. Harry curled up next to his Aunt Kitty and fell asleep._ _

__The next week went a lot like that. Remus would search for a job during the mornings and then spend the rest of his day with Harry and Minerva. On the day that Amelia and Andromeda were scheduled to meet, Minerva received an owl asking her to meet them at Andromeda’s office. While Minerva went to meet them, Remus stayed and watched Harry._ _

__“Uncle Remy, can you tell me a story,” Remus was taken back. That was the first time Harry referred to him as uncle._ _

__“Sure kiddo. Do you want a new story?”_ _

__“No, the animal one!” he could barely contain his excitement. When Remus nodded his head, Harry ran into the house and came back with his stuffed stag._ _

__“Are you ready?” when Harry nodded Remus began. “A long time ago in a magical forest, not too far from here, there was a young wolf who was awfully alone. All the wolf wanted were some animal friends to play with. Everyday the wolf would wander the forest looking for friends. The birds flew too high for him to talk too, and the bunnies and squirrels were afraid of him. One day he got lucky. He came across this strange group of animals - a stag, a dog, and a rat - they were all running around and playing together. He sat there watching them play wishing that he could join them. The stag noticed him watching and ran over to him. _‘Wanna play with us?’_ asked the stag. He seemed very excited to meet the wolf. _‘You aren’t afraid of me?’_ asked the wolf. _‘I don’t see why I should be. Are you afraid of me?’_ the stag asked with a grin. _‘No,’_ answered the wolf. The stag gestured for the wolf to follow him to his other friends who stood there waiting for their friend to return. The wolf reluctantly followed. The other animals didn’t think twice and just started to play with the wolf. The wolf had finally found some friends. They would meet everyday and play with each other all day.” Remus was so busy watching Harry that he didn’t notice the women listening to him tell Harry the story. __

__________“What were they called?” asked Harry._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“The stag was called Prongs, the dog Padfoot, the rat Wormtail, and the wolf was called Moony,” answered Remus. He looked up and waved at the people who were making their way to where the two were sitting under a tree._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hmm,” said Harry. He was thinking very hard about something. He looked up, “Aunt Kitty!” Harry ran and hugged her. He suddenly realized that other people were there and looked down at his shoes shyly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“It’s nice to see you too, Harry,” she smiled at the boy. “Do you remember Andromeda? This is her daughter Nymphadora, and next to her is Amelia. Harry, would you be okay with playing with Nymphadora for a little bit. I need to talk to Remus,” Harry looked scared at the aspect of playing with an older kid, but nodded his head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Do you draw Nym..dora?” Harry was struggling with her name. The young metamorphmagus smiled at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You can call me Dora, I guess. My name is silly, really. I don’t know why mum insisted on naming me that. I’m not very good at drawing, but my mum said that you like to. Can you show me some of yours?” she spoke very fast, but Harry understood her just fine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Your hair is pink!” Harry said excitedly. Just as he said that, she changed it to blue. He was amazed “Wow!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The adults watched as the kids went inside. Remus noticed that the three women didn’t look exactly happy. “What happened?” he asked once the kids were out of ear shot. He looked at each woman, and knew that they didn’t have good news._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Remus,” began Minerva with a quiver in her voice, “Sirius never received a trial.” Remus felt all of his breath leave him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Unfortunately, being the head of the DMLE, I can’t overlook this. I have to arrange for him to have a trial.” Remus nodded his head. Everything felt numb. He looked at Andromeda, who had tears in her eyes. She just nodded her head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“How?” Remus said after what felt like hours. “How did he not receive a trial?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Short answer was, it was determined unnecessary. Everyone at the crime scene said he was guilty and they saw him admit what he had done. Neither his wand or his memories were examined, Barty Crouch had him sent straight to prison,” Amelia explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Remus was trying to wrap his head around what he was hearing. “I want to see him,” he said suddenly. “I need to hear what happened from him. I always thought he had a trial. I can’t believe I didn’t look into it.” Andromeda moved over to sit by Remus._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You can’t do this. Don’t blame yourself. I didn’t know either. Honestly, it took me a while to compose myself after I heard. Remus, this doesn’t mean that he’s innocent. It’s likely that he will get a trial, and be found guilty,” she grabbed a hold of his hand. They sat there hand in hand; both of them had their doubts of Sirius’ guilt. Maybe this trial will be good for them both to see. “Amelia, is there a way we could see him before a trial happens?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I already made arrangements for him to be brought to the Ministry holding cells. We have to have him evaluated to see if he is sane enough to stand trial. I should be able to arrange to have you visit him,” Amelia noticed that the pair looked relieved. “This is going to be fast. Minister Bagnold wants this over as quietly and quickly as possible. Once we determine that he can stand trial, it will happen fast. We cannot move forward with Harry’s custody hearing until this is done.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I just need to know for sure, and I’m sure Remus would like an explanation,” she looked at the young man who was still holding her hand, he nodded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I appreciate you coming to tell me; it’s just a lot to take in,” Remus said, trying hard to keep the emotion out of his voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Amelia nodded, “Of course. We will get to the bottom of this. I know this can’t be easy for any of you. I have to go back to the Ministry to get some things taken care of and arrange for his transfer, please let me know if you guys have any questions.” With that Amelia left them sitting there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I am going to get Nym and head out. Remus, don’t stay alone tonight. You can always stay with us if you need to. I know it’s been awhile, but my home is open to you,” Remus gave her a weak smile, and watched as she walked in the house to get her daughter and head home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“She’s right Remus. You should stay here tonight. The couch isn’t much, but it is comfortable. Let’s head inside so we can see what Harry wants for dinner,” as the two walked in Andromeda waved goodbye. Harry looked sad to see them go._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Uncle Remy! Her hair changed!” one good thing came from today, Harry learned that not all kids were bad._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	3. Confessions and Sirius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything changes when Sirius gets his trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was so much that I wanted to put in here, but I just couldn't fit everything. This takes place from 7/10/1984 to 7/16/1984. Initially, I wanted to put more about Harry adjusting and the full moon in here (which falls on 7/12/1984), but there just wasn't space. 
> 
> I attempted to write Sirius' trial, but I just couldn't find the words. What really matters here is Remus' reaction. The next chapter will focus on adjustments and the fallout of the trial. What will it mean for Minerva? 
> 
> Also, I apologize POV shifts, but I didn't want to keep this chapter to one persons view.
> 
> Takes place from 7/10 to 7/16
> 
> *Disclaimer - As much as we wish it wasn't true, JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter. I am just borrowing the characters and the world.

_7/10/1984_  
Remus gave up sleeping. He sat up on the couch and just stared ahead. He couldn’t wrap his mind around everything that happened. He hadn’t slept well since he left Hogwarts, but recent events didn’t help any. He heard someone go into the kitchen, judging by the sound of the footsteps, it was Minerva. “You can’t sleep either?” he asked.

“No, I just cannot stop thinking about everything. I always thought that it was far-fetched that Sirius would betray you all the way he did, but I had assumed he had a trial. There was just so much going on at the time. I should have checked,” Minerva finished sadly. 

“It’s added to my list of things I feel guilty about. I felt guilty for still being in love with him. I have felt so guilty these past couple of years because he destroyed everything, but I can’t stop loving him, and now I feel guilty because he never had a trial. He was just assumed to be guilty,” Remus had tears in his eyes as he spoke. “Thank you for letting me stay here. If I’m being honest, staying here with you and Harry stopped me from getting drunk on cheap liquor and staying lost in my thoughts.” Minerva handed him a cup of tea, and gave him a weak smile. They sat there in silence watching the rain slide down the windows. 

_7 /13/1984_  
Sirius blinked, he wasn’t used to this amount of light. He heard someone talking to him, but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. He shook his head trying to understand what was happening. He knew that he was no longer in his cell. He didn’t feel the presence of the dementors.

“Madam Bones,” he heard a voice say, “right now, he isn’t responding to anything. It might take him a day or so to adjust to his surroundings, but I believe he should be ready to stand trial soon. I suggest some potions to help with malnourishment, dreamless sleep to allow him to get some sleep, and calming draughts when he is having a rough day. Being away from the dementors will help tremendously.”

“Thank you, Healer Jones,” Amelia looked at the man in front of her. Azkaban had truly done a number on him. He looked up at her, and the light that was still in his eyes amazed her. While he might still be in a daze, he wasn't completely gone. "We will talk tomorrow; for now you should rest. The healer gave you dreamless sleep." He nodded and fell into the most peaceful sleep he had experienced since 1981. 

_7/14/1984_  
Sirius bolted upright. He hadn’t awoken as his human self in so long, he kind of forgot what it felt like. He tried to get a handle on where he was. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was no longer at Azkaban. His bones still felt cold, but not quite as cold as yesterday. He sat there concentrating trying to remember what was going on. He heard a voice that he recognized, so he looked up. There stood Alastor Moody.

“Go let her know that he is awake. I am going to take him to one of the interrogation rooms,” Moody ordered someone in the holding area. Sirius never liked it when the battle scarred auror looked at him, it always made him feel uneasy. 

“Mad-eye,” Sirius croaked, his voice sounded raspy, “What’s going on?”

Moody rolled his good eye at the nickname, “I’m just here to keep watch. Amelia will explain.” His cell door was opened, and his hands were bound. He wasn’t sure when that had happened. There were two aurors behind him; two beside him; and Moody in front. The group made their way to interrogation, where Sirius was cuffed to the table. 

A familiar woman sat in front of him. “Amelia Bones?” Sirius hoarsely questioned. 

She nodded, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but first, let me explain what is happening,” he nodded, she wasn’t planning on giving him room to make any objections. “During research for another case, it was discovered that you were never given a trial. That is a miscarriage of justice, and I will not stand for that. Since you were never given your trial we do not know if you are truly innocent or if you are guilty. Either way, you deserve a trial. The people who care about you deserve closure.” 

Sirius sat there. He was shocked. He was finally getting a trial. Not that it really mattered, he was still guilty. It was his fault. He realized that she had said something that he hadn’t heard. “I’m having a difficult time focusing, can you repeat that?” he asked. 

“This is Healer Jones. She is going to do an examination to make sure that you are fit for trial. I will allow your cuffs to be removed, however, please keep in mind that there are aurors outside the door if needed,” Amelia turned to the healer, “let them know when you are finished, and they will alert me. I have a meeting with the Minister, but I should be finished before you wrap up.” Amelia left the room leaving Sirius and the healer alone. 

“Sirius, my name is Elizabeth. I am going to ask you a series of questions, and I need you to be as honest with me as possible, do you understand?” Sirius nodded, “Good, can you state your full name for me?”

“Sirius Orion Black,” he didn’t understand why she needed that. 

“Your date of birth?”

“3rd of November 1959.”

“What house were you in at Hogwarts?”

“Gryffindor.”  
“Good, thank you,” she smiled at him. “Now that we have that out of the way. Can you explain to me how you are feeling right now?”

He thought that was a weird question, but she is a healer. “Groggy, kind of like a fog is trying to lift. I feel cold,” he finished. 

“That’s a huge improvement from yesterday. Do you remember what happened the night you were taken to Azkaban?” She watched his face change and contort with panic. “Sirius, I need you to breathe,” he listened. “Breathe in, breathe out, slowly. Good, nice slow calm breaths,” she coached him out of his panic attack before it even started. “I am going to have to ask you some questions that will be hard for you to answer and might bring up some bad memories, if you need to take a moment, just close your eyes and slowly breathe in and out. If you cannot answer a question, let me know, we will move on to a different one. Do you understand?” He nodded. She smiled and started to question him about how was doing and past events. He honestly had no idea why she was asking the questions she was, but he followed her instructions. 

About an hour later, she let him know that she was finished asking questions, and let the aurors know that she was ready to speak with Madame Bones, who was already waiting outside of the room. Amelia entered the room, “Madame Bones, I think he will be ready to have his trial as soon as you can arrange it. I would suggest that he be given a calming draught prior to the trial, as some things he will have to be questioned about are triggering for him and have the potential to send him into panic attacks.”

“Thank you, Healer Jones. You may go,” the healer nodded and said her goodbyes. When she left Amelia turned to Sirius, “I can arrange to have your trial on Monday. I have had a couple people request to see you before you are put on trial,” instead of asking who, Sirius just raised his eyebrows, his throat hurt from talking so much today, “Andy and Remus have requested to see you. You do have the right to say no if you would rather not see them,” she finished. His eyes were wide. He nodded his head, indicating that it was okay with him. “They will be by Monday morning before your trial. As for your trial, you are entitled to representation, I would have offered the option for counsel yesterday, but at the time you were incapacitated.” Amelia went on to explain the details of what will happen. Sirius just sat there staring. He was going to get a trial, more importantly, he’d get to see Remus again. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Harry, can you tell me what's wrong?" Minerva was trying to coax the toddler out from under his bed. He seemed utterly terrified. 

"Don't wanna go back," said Harry. Tears were starting to fall. He kept trying to stop them, but he just couldn't. 

"Where do you not want to go?" Asked Minerva, concerned. 

"I'll be good!" Harry exclaimed. 

Minerva sat on the floor, lost. She wasn't sure what was happening. She grabbed Harry's stuffed stag off of his bed and placed it under the bed. "Harry, love, you have not done anything wrong,” she said kindly. He wasn’t convinced, “If you feel you can't tell me what's wrong, can you tell Prongs?" Harry had taken to calling his stuffed stag after the one in Remus' story. Minerva had many questions for Remus about those, but those could be asked another time. She heard Harry sniff and saw the stuffed stag be pulled back. 

"Aunt Petunia is mean. She yells. Uncle Vernon is too. Aunt Kitty and Uncle Remy are nice. They play and have good snacks," the toddler was still crying. She was struggling to keep her composure. 

Minerva knew she couldn't force him to come out or to tell her why he is so afraid of being sent back to the Dursley’s. "I will be right in the kitchen getting lunch ready. Do you want me to send Remus in when he gets here?" 

"Yes," he was still sniffing trying so hard not to cry anymore. 

"As soon as he gets here I will send him in," Minerva left the room. She heard the front door open, and heard Remus come into the kitchen. He looked terrible. It's been a couple of days since they heard the news about Sirius and they were trying to keep to their schedule. The only difference was that Remus had been staying on her couch. She was honestly surprised that he agreed to stay. 

"Do you need any help?" He asked as he walked in the kitchen. 

"No, I can manage, but Harry does. I don't hear him crying anymore, but we had quite a morning. It sounds like he is afraid to go back to the Dursley's, but I'm not sure why he thinks that is going to happen. He didn’t want to talk to me about it, so I gave him his stag, and told him I would send you in to talk to him," she said sadly. She tried not to let it get to her, but she really wanted Harry to trust her with these things. She hoped that she would trust Remus. 

Remus nodded, and went into Harry's room. He sat down on the floor in front of the bed. His body aching as he sat down. He fully expected the full moon to be worse than normal, but it wasn't. As always, the wolf fought being confined, but didn't tear at his skin more than was typical. He could hear Harry talk quietly to the stag, "I want to stay. I like it here. I can draw. I have toys. I have you and Aunt kitty and Uncle Remy." 

"Harry, can I come under there with you?" Remus asked. He heard a very quiet yes come from Harry. He crawled under the bed and layed there for a minute. Harry crawled over and laid beside him. "You look sad. I heard you talking to your stag. Why do you think that you are leaving?" Harry started crying. "Do you mind if we sit on your bed and talk?" Harry nodded his head and together they came out from under the bed and got comfy on Harry's bed. They sat side by side. Remus waited patiently for Harry to start talking to him.

"I heard. Before bed you and Aunt Kitty talking," he was speaking very quietly and staring down at his feet. "Talked bout new house. I don't wanna leave Prongs. But they’re mean. He can't go." Remus suddenly understood. 

"Oh, cub. No," the old pet name he used for Harry came out, and he softly picked Harry up and hugged him. He felt Harry stiffen up, "I'm sorry, Harry. I should have asked you first," he sat Harry back down, but then Harry crawled over and sat on his lap. "Minerva is getting a new house. This one is just too small. She wants to make sure you have plenty of room to play and plenty of room for your toys." Harry's eyes grew wide. The small bedroom he currently stayed in was big, especially compared to his cupboard. Harry hopped off of Remus' lap and ran into the kitchen and hugged Minerva's legs. 

"Whoops, sorry. Shoulda asked first," Harry said sheepishly. "Sorry for running." 

"That's okay Harry, I welcome hugs from you anytime," She smiled down at him. "Would you like to talk some more?"

He shook his head. " 'm okay. Lunch?" 

She smiled. He had come such a long way in a short time. She didn't want to imagine what he would have been like if he was left at the Dursley's. "Yes, go wash your hands, and then we can eat. You too Remus," she raised her eyebrow at the young man in front of her. He smiled and walked over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. 

"He heard us talking about you buying a new house and moving. He was afraid that he wouldn't be allowed to go with you," Remus explained. "He's okay now, I think." Remus started thinking about how he called his stag Prongs, it made him smile. 

Minerva made to say something else, but stopped when Harry entered the room. He crawled into his chair, and immediately started to eat. Remus and Minerva followed suit. Soon enough they were finished, and watching Harry as he sat on the floor coloring in the muggle coloring book Remus had brought him. Both adults enjoyed watching him be happy more than anything. 

“So,” Minerva asked, “I knew the names that you had used in the story you tell Harry sounded familiar,” she saw the look of guilt on her former student’s face. “When?” She gave her the stern look that she always gave the Marauders when she caught them out of bounds. The look that made you want to confess everything to her. 

“The first time was during fifth year, but they started back in third year,” Remus couldn’t lie to her. He honestly didn’t see the point. James and Peter were dead, and Sirius, well, Sirius was Sirius. He saw a knowing smile on her face. “You knew?!?” She nodded, “Of course you knew. You knew pretty much everything we were up to. How did you know by the way?”

“I had always suspected. Especially when James and Sirius were suspiciously quiet for a month at the end of their third year,” she shook her head, smiling fondly. “Those boys didn’t have a quiet bone in their body.” 

_7/16/1984_

Andromeda was full of nervous energy. She glanced at the man beside her, and he was no better. She was watching the anxious movements of his hands, regretting the decision not to allow her husband to come with her. “Andromeda,” Remus brought her back from her thoughts, “he asked for your wand.” The guard at the visitor entrance of the Ministry went through the process of registering their wands and directed them where to go. 

“Please, call me Andy, Remus,” she said, giving him a small smile. “Are you just as nervous as I am? I keep thinking what he is going to look like. Is he okay? Then I think, well he’s guilty, so he doesn’t really deserve to be okay. Of course, there is always the chance that he might not be,” she knew that she was starting to ramble, but she couldn’t make herself stop.

“I know. I keep thinking the same things,” Remus said sadly. They met Amelia in the hall leading to the interrogation rooms. 

“How is he?” asked Andromeda.

“He is better than we expected,” replied Amelia, “I have seen people who are there for just a year, and you can barely recognize them, but while I didn’t know him that well prior to him being sent there, it seems as though he didn’t lose himself.”

They both nodded, but neither quite understood what she meant. She opened the door to the room they were going to be in, and Sirius was already there. As soon as Remus laid eyes on him, he felt sick. Sirius was so skinny, his cheeks were sunken in. He looked like he hadn’t had a decent meal in years, which was probably the truth. Remus couldn’t imagine that they fed Azkaban prisoners well. Remus found Sirius’ eyes. Amelia was right. While his eyes looked slightly haunted, you could still see the mischievous glint that always existed in his eyes. 

“Moony! Andy!” exclaimed Sirius. He looked happy to see them, and then suddenly, he started to panic. “I fucked up,” Sirius put his head in his hands. “Rem, I fucked all of our plans up. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Remus watched as Sirius cried. Andy went to sit beside Sirius, and one of the aurors moved to stop her. 

Remus blocked their path. He didn’t know why he was feeling protective over him. He was right - he fucked everything up. She sat beside her cousin and pulled him into her arms, stroking his hair. “Shh, Sirius. We are here with you now.” 

Remus took his seat across from them. He waited until Sirius was no longer crying. “Sirius, what happened?” Remus asked quietly. 

Sirius looked to Amelia, who nodded and gave him an encouraging smile that confused Remus and Andromeda. “Peter was the secret keeper,” he answered looking down at his hands. 

Silence filled the room. “What?” asked Remus. 

Sirius took a deep breath, “We all decided at the last moment, that Peter should be the secret keeper. No one would have guessed. After…” he trailed off, “after I found them, I went after Peter. I knew no one would believe me. I had him cornered and then everything went wrong. I’m still not sure what happened, but I didn’t kill him. I may be responsible for James and Lily, but I didn’t kill Peter. I don’t think he’s dead, or at least I don’t think he died that night,” Remus looked at Sirius, with eyes wide. He looked in his eyes to see if there was any sign that he was lying. “Rem,” Sirius pleaded, “Moony,” he said after Remus remained sitting there in shocked silence. “Do you believe me? Please believe me,” Sirius was crying, and reached across the table to hold Remus’ hand. 

Remus let him. He was shocked. All he could do was nod his head. He heard a choked sob come from Andy. “Pads, I… I’m sorry that I believed it. I’m sorry that I left you there,” Remus had tears in his eyes. 

Amelia spoke, “I know that you have a lot to say to each other, but the trial is set to start soon. I will be escorting Sirius to the courtroom myself.” They both left reluctantly and made their way to the courtroom with Moody as an escort.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the trial, Albus sat in his chambers with a drink in his hand. He couldn’t believe it; Sirius was innocent. He couldn’t understand how that had happened. They had changed secret keepers. He finished his drink with a single swallow. 

He recalled watching them administer the veritaserum. He listened to Sirius explain the events. The changing of the Secret Keeper; chasing Pettigrew, the explosion.

Sirius was innocent.


	4. The Next Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after Sirius's innocence is found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter. I try to keep my chapters between 3,000 and 4,000 words. This didn't really fit in the last chapter and it doesn't really fit in the next one. I didn't really want to exclude it. There are POV switches, much like the last chapter.

_7/17 early morning_

Minerva sat in her room just staring at the wall. She was happy that Sirius would be released. However, it meant that she could lose Harry. While she cared for Sirius, she loved Harry. She didn’t believe that Sirius would ever keep him from seeing her, but Harry living with him will definitely be an adjustment. She heard soft footsteps stop outside her door, “Harry, love, why aren’t you asleep?” Minerva was trying to hide that she had been crying. 

“Bad dream. Are you sad?” asked Harry, concern showing in the young boys eyes.

Minerva patted the spot beside her on her bed, and Harry wasted no time to join her. “I’m a little sad, but that’s okay. It’s okay to be sad,” she explained to the toddler. He nodded his head. “Do you want to talk about your dream?”

He sighed, “It was dark. Uncle Vernon hitting my door,” he shivered, “I was scared.” He leaned into Minerva’s side and wrapped his arms as far as he could around her

She rubbed small circles on his back, “That’s okay too. It’s okay to be scared, to cry, and to be sad. Thank you for telling me,” she heard him yawn. “Are you ready to go back to bed?” He nodded and got up from the bed. He held his hand out and she let him lead him to his room. He hopped up on his bed and she tucked him in and made sure Prongs was right next to him. She cast a spell that put some dancing lights on his ceiling. “So you won’t be in the dark, Goodnight Harry,” she kissed him on his forehead. He muttered something that sounded like good night and fell right back to sleep.   
___________________________________________________________________________

Andy was laying in bed staring at the ceiling. “Ted, I don’t know how to continue with this case. I would feel like I am betraying Sirius, but I can’t let McGonagall down,” she let out a shaky breath. “She helped us so much after we eloped. She’s one of the reasons I had the courage to leave my life and agree to marry you,” she smiled. Leaving her family was the best thing she had ever done.

Ted pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, “She’ll understand. She knows how close you and Sirius were. Even after you ran away. The most important thing right now is that Harry is safe. A byproduct of that is that Sirius is now free. I don’t think that she would fault you for taking a step back. She will understand.”  
____________________________________________________________________________

Remus was back in his cottage. He didn’t want to leave Sirius, but he wasn’t given a choice. Directly after the trial healers had taken him to St. Mungo’s. They told him he could visit in the morning. He drank the last of his whiskey. Innocent. Sirius was innocent. Remus didn’t know what that meant for them. 

He felt guilty. All he had been thinking about was Sirius. What about Minerva? He knew that she would be happy with this verdict, but she also knew what it meant for her. She had fallen for Harry so fast. Harry trusted her. It would destroy him if Sirius decided to take sole custody of Harry. Not that he thought Sirius would. He knew that all Sirius would want would be what was best for Harry, even if it wasn’t what was best for him. They all wanted what was best for Harry, but right now. Remus didn’t want to think about that. Remus started to drift off to sleep. The last thing he thought about was Sirius.   
____________________________________________________________________________

Sirius was in his hospital room. He was free; no more Azkaban. Remus’ face when the verdict was read was etched in Sirius memory. Remus was happy and filled with guilt. Sirius wondered if there was hope for them. He hoped he wouldn’t have to stay here long. He wanted to be with Remus to see if they could salvage what they had, and he wanted to be with him more than anything. Well, not more than anything. He wanted to see Harry. No one would tell him about Harry. They promised after the trial, but he was taken directly to St. Mungo’s for further evaluation. He didn’t put up a fight. Andy had told him to do whatever he’s told. How he corporates would determine when he got to see Harry  
____________________________________________________________________________

_7/17 during the day_

Remus arrived at St. Mungo's as soon as he could the next morning. He hoped Sirius would be done with his morning appointments. He checked in with the wizard at the front desk and made his way to Sirius. 

“Moony!” Sirius exclaimed. “You’re here.”

“Yeah, Pads, I’m here,” Remus smiled, “How are you? That’s a stupid question.”

Sirius gave a weak laugh, “Foggy, I’m not really sleeping, and I keep remembering things I would rather not think about,” Sirius paused,”Why don’t you hate me? I fucked things up. Everything.”

“Sirius,” Remus said, taking his hand, “I couldn’t hate you. If I’m being honest, I wanted to. I tried to hate you, but I couldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I hate myself. All of this is my fault. I should have never agreed to that,” Sirius started to struggle to breathe. Remus could see the panic in his eyes. He watched as his friend tried to ground himself. Sirius breathed in and out slowly and sat there with his eyes closed. “Merlin, I hope those stop. I saw a medical healer and a mind healer this morning. Apparently panic attacks are normal when you’ve gone through trauma,” Sirius rolled his eyes, “Fucking trauma. Is that really all it boils down to? No, I-I-I j-just need to see Harry. If I see the two of you together, I’ll be fine. We can g-g-go home,” Sirius was stammering with tears in his eyes. 

“Sirius,” Remus started slowly, “you can’t see Harry right now. You will scare him. Get better. I’ll be here with you whenever you need me. Then once you’re healthier both in mind and body. We will arrange for you to meet Harry. I promise, no one is going to keep him from you.”

Sirius nodded. Harry would be turning four this month. He wouldn’t know him. He wouldn’t remember him. Sirius sighed. “How long can you stay?” he asked Remus.

Remus gave him a smile, “Until the healers kick me out.”


	5. Seeing Padfoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place from 7.18 to 7.21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the next chapter or so the story will start moving faster. 
> 
> For some reason, this chapter was hard to write. It didn't flow like the other ones did, and it kind of show. I hope you all enjoy it. Hopefully the next chapters flow better than this one. 
> 
> *Unfortunately, these characters still belong to JKR, but that doesn't mean we can't change their lives a little... well, a lot.*

_7/18_

“Good morning, Andromeda” Minerva greeted. “Thank you for meeting with me.” 

“It was actually good that I received your message. I needed to talk to you about,” she was cut off as her former professor raised her hand to stop her from talking. 

“You can’t represent me anymore. I understand that. I would never want to put you in a spot like that,” she smiled at her. “I’m here to tell you that I won’t fight Sirius. So long as he is capable of raising Harry, I have no problems allowing him to have custody of Harry. He should have gone to him in the first place. I know Sirius, and I know he loves him. I remember when Harry was born, Sirius was so excited to see him. He didn’t want to let him go when he finally got to hold him.” Minerva smiled at the memory. 

Minerva was sitting in front of Andromeda, “Sirius won’t keep him from you. Remus would never allow that. Sirius would never want that. Honestly, I think that Remus will probably suggest you all live together or at the very least close together. Harry trusts you. He loves you. Being separated from you, would be so hard on him,” she reached across the table and grabbed the professor’s hand. People always assumed that because she was strict, it meant she was uncaring, when in reality, she was one of the warmest, most helpful people Andromeda had ever met. 

Before she could respond, they were interrupted. “Muuum,” yelled the soon to be Hogwarts student, “I’m bored.” The metamorphmagus flopped on the couch that sat in the office and blew her hair out of her face. 

“Nymphadora, I have a guest,” Andromeda explained patiently. 

“Muuuum, can you not call me Nymphadora,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s a stupid name.”

“I’m sorry, love, it’s a reflex. Dora, do not be rude. I have a client here,” stated Andromeda.

“That’s not a client, mum. That’s Aunt Minnie!” she ran over and gave the professor a hug. Very few people got away with calling her anything but Minerva, and this young person was one of them. 

“Now, Dora, you do know that when you arrive at Hogwarts, you will have to call me Professor?” she reminded the excitable preteen. She nodded. “Good, now, Andromeda, would you like me to take her to my house. I’m sure Harry would love to play with her.”

“That’s fine with me. Dora?” she nodded quickly and hopped up off of the couch. 

Minerva ushered Dora into the house, her floo was only accessible from certain locations, and Harry immediately came running. "Aunt Kitty!" He hugged her, "Dora!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her outside. Minerva and a chuckling Remus followed. 

Harry excitedly showed Dora the sandbox Remus had built for him and the sand castle they were working on. Minerva turned to Remus, “How’s Sirius?” she was going to see him today.

“He has frequent nightmares and panic attacks, but he is improving. Thanks to the potions, the only way you can tell that he was in Azkaban is this look he gets in his eyes. He looks far away sometimes, kind of haunted, but that’s getting better too. They are looking to release him in a couple of days.”

There was a knock on the door halting their conversation. When she came back from the door, she wasn’t alone. Augusta Longbottom was there with her grandson, Neville. Remus stood from his seat, "Remus, I don't know if you have met, but this is Augusta Longbottom. Augusta, this is Remus Lupin." 

"Mrs. Longbottom, it's a pleasure to meet you," Remus greeted her. 

“Mr. Lupin, a pleasure as well. I am sorry to drop by like this, but there is an emergency, and I do not want to take Neville to St. Mungo’s with me,” she looked down at her grandson and gave a sad smile. She quickly reigned in her emotions, “Would you be able to keep him for the afternoon?”

“I actually have an appointment at St. Mungo’s this afternoon, but if Remus doesn’t mind watching both boys and a preteen,” Minerva chuckled at the slight look of fear in the 24 year old’s eyes. 

“Neville is well behaved, you will never know that he is here,” Augusta was desperate. Remus nodded his consent. Augusta said goodbye to her grandson and hurriedly left. 

“Remus, are you sure you will be okay with three of them?” Minerva asked. 

“It will be fine. Harry is well behaved, and Dora likes to have someone to tell what to do. She will love having someone else that falls in that category,” He winked at Neville and crouched down to talk to him, “Hi Neville, my name is Remus. Minerva has to go out for the afternoon, so you are going to hang out with me. Don’t worry, there are a couple of other kids here for you to play with. Would you like to go meet them?”

Neville nodded, and the group headed outside, “Harry, Dora, can you come here please?” Minerva asked. Both kids ran toward the adults. Harry hid behind Dora when he noticed another kid there. He really didn’t have a lot of experience around children. “This is Neville. He came over to play with you.”

“Hi Neville! Harry was just showing me his new sandbox, do you want to come play with us?” as she was saying so, she was changing her hair from color to color to make the young boy smile. Neville nodded hesitantly and followed the other two to the sandbox. 

“Stop hovering, I’ll be fine,” Remus told Minerva. He was uncomfortable, but he would manage. 

She nodded, and hurried out. She was nervous about seeing Sirius. She made it to St. Mungo’s and asked someone to escort her to Sirius' room. 

"Minnie!" Sirius exclaimed. "Remus told me to expect you." He got up and gave his former professor a hug. 

"Sirius, what have I told you about calling me that?" She smiled fondly at the young man as he sat in a chair by his bed. She followed suit and sat next to his. "How are you?"

"I'm ready to leave. I'm ready to see Harry. I'm ready to not have to see a Mind Healer daily, and instead spend time with Moony and Harry. I just want to put all of this behind me," he sighed. She could see the haunted look that Remus was talking about. Sirius continued, “All I do here is think about what could have been different. I think about everything I messed up. I’m tired of thinking about it.”

“What are your plans for when you are released? From what I hear, that day is coming up quickly,” Minerva stated. She saw Sirius cringe a little. 

“I don’t know. I’m just focused on getting out of here,” Minerva raised her eyebrow at him in question. “I’ll be staying with Remus. We both discussed it and figured it would be best if I don’t stay alone. I want Harry. I want a home to go to.”

“Do you want to stay with Remus just because you are afraid of being alone or because you want to be with him?” Minerva asked. 

“I want to be with him. He’s what I wanted since our first kiss. I don’t deserve him, and I have fucked up so many times that I would understand if he doesn’t want what I do. I thought him the traitor. I really let myself think that he would betray all of us. I just want a chance to make up for everything I’ve done wrong.”

She gave him a sad smile and took his hand. “You have a chance now.” Minerva sat with him for a couple hours more. As she was leaving she ran into Augusta, who looked like she had been more cheerful than she had dropping Neville off. 

“Minerva, I am happy to have run into you. Is there anyway you could keep Neville for the night? Francis had an accident earlier and will be here overnight. They will allow me to stay with him, and I desperately want to make sure that these overzealous healers do their jobs correctly,” she eyed one of the trainees in the hallway. 

“Of course, that won’t be a problem,” she assured her. “I am glad to hear that he will be okay.”

When Minerva made it back home, Dora was gone and both boys were sitting in the living coloring. “Aunt Minnie!” Harry said excitedly. He ran to hug her. “Nev likes to color.” She smiled at both boys. 

“Neville, dear, your grandmother will be back to pick you up in the morning. Everything is okay, and your grandfather will be home in the morning. Do you boys know where Remus is?” The boys pointed to the kitchen as it was almost time for dinner. 

“Minerva, how did it go?” Remus questioned. 

“He seems to be doing well, all things considered. Do you need help?” Remus shook his head. All that was left was to put the plates on the table. “I do have a question for you. Are you sure that Sirius staying with you is the best idea?”

“It is. He can’t stay alone, and I don’t want him to. Ever since I heard he was innocent, it’s been all I can think about,” Remus assured her. 

“I just want to make sure that the two of you don’t get in over your head,” she explained. “Oh, Neville will be staying here tonight. His grandfather will be at St. Mungo’s overnight and his grandmother will be staying there to quote ‘watch the overzealous healers.’ She is going to have them running scared,” She started to place the plates on the table. Remus laughed and went to get the boys.

After dinner, stories were told and then it was bedtime. Minerva was worried about what the future would hold for all of them, but looking at how well Harry was adjusting, she had hope. 

_7/19_

Minerva was taking Harry and Neville outside to play when a voice came from her floo, “Minerva, are you in?” asked the voice of the headmaster. He saw her approach, “May I come through?” She nodded, she was going to have to take him off of her floo list. 

“What is it that you need, Albus?” She led him outside so she could watch the boys. 

“I need to talk about Harry,” he said gravely. Harry heard his name and whipped his head towards them. Albus waved at him and Harry gave a small smile back and returned to whatever game he and Neville had decided on playing. 

Minerva glared at him and threw up a silencing spell, “Care to speak any louder, Albus?”

“My apologies, but there was no harm done. I will put it bluntly, you cannot let Sirius take custody of Harry. He is unstable and will hurt the boy,” if Minerva could have made him disappear with a look, she would have. “Let me explain before you say anything. His family always was unstable and his mother is still alive. She would love to get her hands on Harry and turn him into a son of which she could be proud.”

Minerva scoffed, “Are we talking about the same person, Albus? Euphemia Potter was his mother more so than Walburga could ever be. Sirius loves Harry and will fight for him. I have no doubt that Sirius would be capable of protecting Harry.”

“Minerva, please listen to reason. I can tell that you don’t want to lose Harry,” Albus pleaded. He needed to find a way to keep custody from Sirius. 

“I have no fear that I am going to lose Harry. Regardless of who has custody of him or who he lives with, I will be in his life,” as if on cue, Harry started to run towards them with Neville right behind him. 

“Aunt Minnie, is it lunch time?” he asked with hopeful eyes. She cancelled the silence charm and addressed the toddlers. 

“It is. Any requests?” both kids looked pensive, well as pensive as almost four year olds can be. 

“Juice and sandwiches?” asked Harry quietly. Neville nodded in agreement. 

“That sounds good to me. Give me just a moment to walk Professor Dumbledore out, and then we will go inside and get lunch ready.” 

As Minerva was making sure that he left, Augusta appeared. “Come in, I was just going to make the boys lunch. Would you like to join us.” She nodded, and followed Minerva to the small kitchen wear the boys were already seated at the table. 

“Hello, Gran,” Neville greeted her. He got up and gave her a small hug, and then went back to sit beside Harry. 

“Hello, Neville. Harry it’s nice to see you again,” Harry gave her a small smile as she sat next to Neville. Just then plates were lowered in front of them as Minerva took her seat. After lunch was finished, they all said goodbye.

“Aunt Minnie, can Neville come to play?” Harry asked hopefully. 

“Of course love, I will talk to his grandmother and see if we can work something out so you guys can play again,” Minerva smiled as she cleaned up the last of the mess from their lunch. “What would you like to do now?” 

“Story?” Harry questioned. 

“Absolutely,” Minerva agreed and they made their way to the living room and made themselves comfortable on the couch for story time. 

_7/21_

Harry sat quietly in his hiding place. He liked his room. He didn’t want to leave. He was scared and confused. He didn’t want to leave Aunt Minnie. He didn’t want Uncle Remy’s friend to visit. He wanted to play with Dora and his new friend Neville. He liked his bed, his sandbox and liked having Prongs next to him, but he would give it all up if they just let him stay.  
\-----  
Remus was running around the house looking for Harry. He couldn’t find him. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Minerva had left to go assist some of the muggleborns with their back to school shopping, but she would be back soon. He wanted to find Harry before she got back. “Harry, cub, please if you can hear me come out,” Remus begged. He was in the hall and heard a whimper from the closet. He wanted to open it and pull Harry into a hug, but instead he knocked on the door and sat on the floor. “Harry, would you please come out and speak with me? I would like to help.” He sat there, anxiously waiting on the toddler to come out of his hiding place. The door slowly opened. 

“Sorry,” Harry said, looking down at his feet. 

“Harry, can you tell me what’s wrong? I was very worried,” Remus patted the floor next to him, instead of sitting on the floor, Harry sat in his lap. He started crying and hiccuping. Remus wrapped his arms around the toddler and rocked back and forth making shushing noises. 

“Oh, cub.” Remus whispered. Harry finally started to calm down and his breathing was going back to normal

“I’m scared,” Harry sniffled, wrapping his arms around Remus’ neck.

“Why are you scared?” 

“He won’t like me,” it suddenly clicked for Remus. 

“Oh, Harry, he already loves you. He has loved you since the first time he held you. If you don’t want to meet him today, you don’t have to. If you are afraid that he won’t like you, then that is very very wrong,” Harry loosened his grip on Remus’ neck. 

“Promise?” Harry asked. 

“I promise, and if he doesn’t like you, then you never ever have to see him again. I promise you that he loves you,” Remus reassured the toddler. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Do you want to pick out your clothes?” Harry’s eyes got wide, he smiled and ran to his room to pick out some clothes. 

Harry was dressed and eating a snack when Minerva came through the door. Harry ran to hug her. “Did you and Remus have fun today?” She asked as she picked him up. They learned that Harry loved to be carried, but would never ask them. He rarely ever asked for anything unless prompted.

Remus smiled, as he always seemed to do when he was with them. They were a family. “Harry, I will be right back, I’m going to go get Sirius. Okay?” Harry nodded and Remus left for St. Mungo’s. 

“Moony!” Sirius said excitedly as Remus walked into his room. He was bouncing on his heels with nervous energy. “Let’s go! I’m ready to see Harry.” 

Remus smiled, “Before we go, I just want to go over a couple things.”

Sirius rolled his eyes, “Rem, I remember everything you told me. He can be skittish and isn’t a fan of loud noises or fast movements,” Sirius’ eyes grew dark at that part. 

“Yes, but he had a bit of a panic attack this morning. He’s afraid that you won’t like him, and that if you don’t I won’t, and that if I don’t then Minerva won’t. He’s afraid to be sent back to the Dursleys.”

“He will never go back there!” Sirius yelled, “Did you tell him that it was rubbish, and I loved him?”

“Yes, Padfoot. I did. He is just anxious and afraid of rejection,” Remus explained patiently. 

Sirius calmed down. “I promise. No more freaking out. Can we go see my godson now? My therapy today was working dealing with crowds and we went to a muggle shopping area. I have presents,” Sirius said with a grin. 

Remus laughed, “Let’s go then. You do remember that Minerva’s house isn’t very big?” He saw Sirius’ grin falter. “Pads, I’m sorry,” Remus was kicking himself. “I know you want Harry to live with you, but you aren’t ready to live on your own, let alone with a toddler. We will see him everyday,” he tried to reassure him. 

Sirius gave him a weak smile and grumbled. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Let’s go!” 

They made it to Minerva’s house, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Sirius bouncing again with more nervous energy, “Pads, it will be fine. You ready?” Sirius nodded and Remus opened the door. 

“Uncle Remy!” Harry said excitedly, as though he feared he would never see him again, and started to run towards him. He stopped when he saw Sirius behind Remus. Remus closed the distance between them, and as Harry hugged him, Remus picked Harry up. 

“Harry, this is Sirius. He is very excited to meet you,” Remus assured the toddler. 

“Hi,” Harry said quietly into Remus’ shoulder as they walked to the couch and sat down.   
\-------  
Sirius looked at the toddler and felt his heart break. The poor kid was terrified. Remus was right, this was going to be a process. “Hi, Harry,” he said softly. “I have been very nervous about seeing you.” Harry’s eyes grew wide and let go of Remus to look at Sirius. Sirius gave him a smile. “Adults get nervous too,” Sirius was sitting on the floor. “But I do have something for you, Remus told me about the story that he tells you about the wolf and his friends. I figured your stag is probably lonely, so I brought him some friends.” Sirius proceeded to pull out a wolf and dog from the bag that was at his side and sat the stuffed animals on the table so Harry could grab them. 

Harry reached out slowly, eyeing Sirius suspiciously, “For me?” he asked with awe in his voice. 

“Of course pup, I also have more things in here for you if you would like to see,” Sirius moved the bag to be between him and where Harry was seated with Remus. Remus got down on the floor with Harry, who looked uncomfortable, but he looked towards Minnie who nodded and Harry sat more comfortably in Remus’ lap. 

Sirius wanted nothing more than to pick Harry up and give him a big hug, but he would be patient. He watched as Harry would pick a toy out of the bag. He had to play with each toy before he would look at another one. 

“Minnie, don’t think I forgot about you,” Sirius said with a grin. 

“If you must give me something you must, but you will have to bring it to me,” she said with overexaggerated exasperation in her voice. 

Sirius got up from his spot on the floor and sat beside her on the couch. He handed her a gold locket with a long chain. “It only has Harry’s baby picture in it now, but I figured you would like to add more. I wasn’t sure how to do it, but there is a way that you can make it hold as many pictures as you would like,” Sirius explained. “I just wanted it to say thank you for everything.” They were quiet for a moment. “Do you like it?”

She was trying not to cry, but nodded her head. “It’s perfect, Sirius, thank you,” she gave him a hug. 

Sirius smiled and went back to the floor to sit with Harry and Remus. Harry had moved from Remus’ lap to sit in between the two adults. He would let Harry take whatever time he needed. Sirius felt at peace looking at the people in the living room.   
\-------------  
Minerva watched from her spot on the couch. She started to think of them as her boys, and they were. If Albus thought she wasn’t going to figure out what he was planning, he was sorely mistaken. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt any of them again. They were, for better or worse, her family. She would fight for them to be able to live the life they deserve. 

She smiled as she saw Harry move closer to Sirius. She knew that Sirius wanted nothing more than to hold him, but she was proud of him for being patient, after all, Sirius Black was not known for his patience. 

A few hours later, just after dinner, Remus and Sirius had left after a distraught Harry had calmed down. He had realized that Remus wasn’t staying the night and it took a while to convince him that Remus would be back tomorrow. 

Minerva smiled at the look on Sirius’ face when Harry asked if Sirius was coming back too. This would work out just fine.   
\--------------  
Remus couldn’t believe it, they had been alone in his cottage for less than two hours and they were already arguing. 

"I'm not a fucking child! Can you stop walking on eggshells around me and tell me what you're thinking? I can’t read minds, Moony!" Sirius yelled.

"Does everything have to be an argument? It's like you want me to be mad at you," Remus was tired of this conversation. They have been having versions of it since the first time he had visited hospital. 

"Just tell me the truth. You have every right to hate me. I didn't trust you. I thought you were the spy. All of this is my fault,” Sirius sat down. 

"I don't hate you, but it did hurt. You not trusting me. Did James and Lily not trust me either? You all were everything I had. Everything that was important to me. And you didn't trust me. So yes, it hurt, but I don't hate you. No matter what I tried I couldn't hate you," Remus watched Sirius' face go from being angry to shameful. Remus sat beside him.

"It was only me," Sirius sighed. He ran his hands through his hair. "I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it. I have a lot that falls into that category."

"We both have some things to atone for. I believed what everyone was saying, well not really. But I didn't fight for you. I didn't check on Harry. I let him stay with the fucking Dursleys for two years,” he ran his hand across his face. “Merlin, we are a pair, aren't we?" He gave Sirius a wry smile. 

“Moony, what do you want to do? About, about us?” Remus could hear the vulnerability coming through Sirius’ voice. Sirius was looking down, avoiding Remus’ face. They sat there for a few minutes in silence. “For the love of - are you going to answer me? I don’t care what the answer is. Well, I do want one particular answer, but I would understand if that’s not the answer I get,” Sirius started to ramble. Remus chuckled. “Why the fuck are you laughing at me? Rem - I just need to know.”

Remus grabbed Sirius' hands. “We have some stuff to work on, but this, us, it’s what I want.” They both knew it would take time for them to get back to normal, but them being together felt natural.


	6. Playdates and Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! First I want to say thank you so much for your support :) I appreciate the kudos and comments, and while I mainly write for myself, you all give me that extra motivation when I don't have any. 
> 
> This chapter is a little late, but I finally got it worked out. I am hoping to post the next one early depending on how my work week goes. I get my second COVID shot this week, and most of my fellow colleague shared that it made them not feel so great, so my goal is to write more during the week than I normally would, just in case I wind up being stuck in bed.

_7.22_

Sirius couldn’t sleep. He was tempted to take a dreamless sleep, but remembered that his mind healer had warned him that he could become dependent if he took them nightly. Remus stirred beside him. He got up so as to not wake him. Sitting in the living room he stared into the empty fireplace. He ran his hands over his face, and then curled up as Padfoot. He felt the couch sink in beside him. 

“Siri, can you change back. I think it might help to talk,” Remus urged. “Besides, I’m not holding your cup while you drink as a dog,” he gestured with the drink. 

Padfoot whined, and then changed back. “Rem, I can’t do this,” was his quiet reply. “I just want everything to be normal, but it isn’t.” He took the drink and tossed it back. “I probably shouldn’t be drinking this.” He looked at his glass. 

“The alcohol was probably a bad idea, but we can keep each other in check,” Remus said with a knowing look. Sirius laid his head on his shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Moony, I have done so much talking in the past week, and apparently I’m going to have to continue talking for a while before I can stop. Mind Healers,” he scoffed. “But, for Harry, I will tolerate these visits.”

“You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would. I’m proud of you,” Remus knew that Sirius had never liked talking about things that were real to him. 

“Moony, are you sure you are okay? You never were much of a drinker, but the only thing you have here is alcohol?” Sirius asked with concern. 

“I had some hard days, well a lot of them. When I worked, I was fine, but then when I was home I was alone. It was hard. I wasn’t allowed to see Harry. I didn’t even know where he was. I had my suspicions, but then I figured he’d be better off without me. So here I stayed,” Remus said tiredly. “Sirius, the day Minerva contacted me was the happiest I had been in so long. It felt like I got a little piece of everyone back. Then when I found out that you were innocent, I had hope that things would be okay.”

“Well, I’m here now. Things might not always be okay, but we have each other. We have Harry, and we have Minerva as well,” he smiled to himself. “Our own strange little family.”

\--------

On the opposite side of the country, a man sat at a worn table in a home nicknamed the Burrow trying to catch up on the news. He kept hearing snippets of things that concerned him, but since he spent his time with an eight year old, he always missed out on the most of the important parts.

He had gotten pretty comfortable in his home. Sure, he didn’t get to stretch his legs as much as he’d like, but he still made sure to check the papers every so often just to make sure that he was safe. He went to where the old issues of the Prophet were kept, and skimmed through the headlines. His eyes grew wide, Sirius is free.

_**-Daily Prophet Headlines-** _

_(7.17)_ Sirius Black Innocent

_Free After Wrongful Imprisonment_

_(7.19)_ Madame Bones and the Fight for a Trial

_How Sirius got his trial_

_(7.20)_ What Happened to Pettigrew?

_Peter Pettigrew wanted for questioning_

Later that day, the family returned home and a young boy ran to his room to feed his pet rat. Unfortunately, it would take a few days for them to realize that the rat was nowhere to be found.

 _7.25_  
Sirius climbed out of the fireplace and cleaned himself off, “Moony are you here?” He missed the look of confusion on the boys’ faces as they heard the familiar name. 

“In the kitchen,” Remus was making them all lunch. Neville was over at Minerva’s for another playdate with Harry. They seemed to get along well and enjoyed playing with each other. 

“Where’s Minnie?” Sirius asked, sitting at the table. 

Remus rolled his eyes, “She’s going to hex you if you keep calling her that.”

“Nah, she loves me,” Sirius said with a wink.

Remus chuckled, he was pretty sure that only there are only three people who can get away with calling Minerva, Minnie. Fortunately for Sirius, he was one of them. He noticed Harry and Neville coming into the kitchen, “Just in time, lunch is ready.” He smiled and Sirius helped him put the food on the table. “Harry, are you okay?” Harry was just staring at him and Sirius, like he wanted to ask something. 

He noticed the look that Neville was giving Harry, as he nudged him with his elbow. “Ask, he’s your uncle,” Neville tried to ask quietly. Harry just shook his head. 

“Neville?” Remus prompted. “What is it you boys want to know?”

Neville sighed, “He called you Moony, like the story.” 

Sirius grinned, “Story, what story?” 

“Moony is a wolf, and he has a stag friend and a dog friend. Used to be a rat,” Harry finished. 

“I think it ran away,” added Neville quietly. 

Sirius grinned at Moony, ignoring the talk of the rat. “So you told them stories about us?” The boy’s eyes were as big as saucers. “You wanna know a secret? He calls me padfoot, and Harry, your dad, we called him Prongs.” 

Harry and Neville stared at each other and then at the two adults sitting at the table with them. They started to laugh, “But those are animals, Siri.” Harry explained. 

Sirius grinned again and stood up from the table, Harry eyed him suspiciously, while they may have been spending more and more time together, he still didn’t trust him quite as much as Remus or Minerva. “I have something to show the both of you, are you ready?” he asked. Both boys looked at each other and then nodded.

In the spot where Sirius was standing, stood a big black dog. The front door opened, and the dog let out a bark as Minerva entered the kitchen. She sighed, “I hope he’s house broken.” Harry and Neville started to laugh, and the dog winked at them.

\---------------

Later that night, Neville had gone home, and Harry was in bed. “So, Harry’s birthday is coming up. I know that there are a lot of things that we need to discuss, but I think we should do something big for his birthday!” Sirius couldn’t contain his excitement. He was pretty sure that Harry wouldn’t remember celebrating his birthday, while the thought made him angry, he wanted to make sure that Harry had a day to remember.

“While we definitely should and will celebrate his birthday, I don’t know that something big is the way to do it,” Remus stated patiently. He saw Sirius deflate. 

“Sirius, it’s just that Harry still struggles with having more than a few people around. We don’t want to scare him,” Minerva added, setting their drinks down on the table. “I think that doing something big might overwhelm him, not to mention, you.” She looked at the young man in front of her with concern. Whenever there is too much excitement or too big of a crowd, Sirius seemed to withdraw.

Sirius sighed, “I just don’t want to ruin his birthday.”

Remus grabbed his hand, “There is no way you could do that. In all honesty, I would be surprised if he knew when his birthday was. What if we invite the Tonks’ and Longbottom’s over. I think Harry would enjoy that.” Minerva nodded her agreement. 

“Oh! We could get the stuff to build forts and obstacle courses in the backyard!” Sirius was bouncing in his seat. During Harry’s first birthday, James insisted on turning the living room into a fort to celebrate Harry’s birthday. 

“That’s a great idea. Then afterwards, while the kids, and Padfoot, takes a nap, the adults can enjoy drinks and conversations,” Remus stated, trying to suppress a grin, causing Sirius to stick his tongue out at him. 

“I do think they would all enjoy that. Let’s talk to Harry to see what he wants to do for his birthday before we get ahead of ourselves,” both Sirius and Remus found themselves to be agreeable to that. “Now that that is settled. We have something a little more,” she sighed, “serious, to handle.” Sirius grinned, he loved it when people used serious in a sentence. He would let this use slide, just this once. Minerva continued, “We need to discuss living arrangements. School starts in September, and I think it would be best if we spend August getting Harry adjusted to not being with me everyday.”

“Minnie, Rem and I can’t do this by ourselves, you know that, right? We need you to keep us in line,” he laughed when she rolled her eyes. “Well, we could do it by ourselves,” he corrected himself, “but we don’t want to. The four of us are a family, and while you will be at the school the majority of the time, we would still like you to live with us.”

“I showed Sirius the house that you were looking at when you first started to talk about moving, and he thinks it’s the perfect place. It has plenty of space inside and is secluded enough without being completely isolated,” Remus explained. “I think Harry would love it.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. Gringotts will be helpful with this,” Sirius was looking guiltily at the table. “Sirius, what’s wrong?” Minerva asked, afraid of the answer. 

“I know this is a group decision, but after my visit to St. Mungo’s today, I may have already bought the house,” Remus and Minerva blinked in disbelief. 

“You, you already bought the house?” Remus questioned, wondering if his hearing had gone. 

“Well, yeah. I may have been a tad excited, and I was having a good day. So after my appointment today, I decided to go to Gringotts to take care of a couple things and started to talk to them about the house. They said someone else was thinking about buying it, and I couldn’t have that, because from what you told me, it was perfect. I asked to see it, and after I saw it, I couldn’t let it go. So, I bought it,” he stated quickly. 

“You git,” Remus leaned over to kiss him, and started laughing. “That doesn’t surprise me one bit. Although, what does surprise me, is that you kept it a secret all day. You aren’t very good with those.”

Minerva was shaking her head, “I have to agree with Remus. I’m surprised that you are in one piece.”

Sirius looked at the two of them, “So just to be clear you aren’t angry? It was presumptuous and impulsive,” he explained. This felt strange to him. “Wait - I can keep a secret!”

“Love, unless it is something important, for example, me being a werewolf, you have a hard time keeping secrets. You have never been able to surprise anyone with presents because you break as soon as you buy the gift and either tell what you bought or you go ahead and give it to them,” Remus sipped his tea. “While James wanted it to be a surprise, you let it slip that you all had started the animagus process. Although, when you guys would have needed to keep the mandrake leaves in your mouths, I would have gotten suspicious and thought something was up.”

“Yes, that was a quiet month. I always wondered what you all were up to, but honestly, the quiet was nice,” Remus and Sirius raised their eyebrows. “I should have known, really, but I didn’t want to question it, so I just let you boys be.”

7.26  
Sirius was watching as Remus read to Harry underneath a tree in Minerva’s backyard. He had bought a camera yesterday and thought this was the perfect moment to break it out. He stood there watching them, and while it made him happy, it also broke him a little bit. He went back inside and sat down. Before he knew it, he was crying. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps. He quickly wiped his eyes, “Hey, pup. You okay?” 

“Yeah. Are you sad?” Harry asked, his eyes were wide with concern.

“A little, but you’re here, so I feel better now,” Sirius smiled at Harry. 

“I get sad too. Aunt Minnie and Uncle Remy help. I’ll be right back,” Harry ran off to his room. When he came back he was carrying Prongs. “Prongs helps too.” He handed the stuffed stag to Sirius. “Want a hug? Hugs help.” 

“I would love a hug, prongslet,” Harry climbed in Sirius’ lap and wrapped his arms around Sirius’ neck. “You give great hugs.”

\----------

Minerva came home and was greeted by the sight of Harry and Sirius asleep on the couch. She saw Remus who gestured for her to join him outside. He handed her a cup of tea, “How was the castle?”

“Oh, it was fine. I’ve been avoiding Albus. He’s up to something, but I’m not sure what at the moment. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but I would like to keep an eye on him.”

“He asked to meet with Sirius tomorrow,” Remus supplied. “I will be going with him. I don’t trust Sirius not to hex him or do something impulsive.”

“Like buy another house?” she said with a smile. “Please tell me you were able to take a picture of them?” Remus nodded. “Harry has really taken to Sirius.”

“He was upset this afternoon. Sirius was, that is. I think he sees what could have been and starts feeling guilty for the effect his actions had,” Remus hoped that eventually, Sirius would forgive himself. “Do you think we should talk to Harry tonight after dinner, about the house and his birthday?” 

Minerva nodded, “The sooner we talk to him, the sooner we can start the moving process. Hopefully he will be able to adjust to the changes well enough. He has had a lot thrown at him this month.” Remus nodded in agreement.

After dinner that night, they sat down to talk to Harry. “Harry, do you remember when we had spoken to you about going to a new house?” Minerva began. Harry nodded his head. “Well, we want to take you to see the new house tomorrow.” Harry’s eyes got big. 

“Can Prongs come?” Harry asked quietly. 

“Of course. We wanted to ask you something else too. Your birthday is coming up,” Harry looked at Minerva with confusion, he didn’t know when his birthday was. “Is there anything you’d like to do?”

Harry looked down, “No, that’s okay.”

“Pup, we want to celebrate your birthday with you. You can have cake, and Neville can come over and play. Dora too if you’d like. Plus, you get presents and we can play games.” Harry’s eyes grew wide. 

“Does that sound like something you’d like to do?” asked Remus. 

Harry thought for a moment. Dudley’s parties always looked like fun, so he nodded his head. He gets to go to a new house and he gets a birthday party. He really hoped he wasn’t dreaming.

\------------

Sirius groaned, another sleepless night. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a drink. He really needed to get Remus some better alcohol. “He didn’t know when his birthday was,” Sirius explained when he heard Remus walk in the room. “I hope I never see the Dursley’s. The only thing that would stop me from hexing the bloody life out of them is that I never want to abandon Harry again.”

“I’ve thought about it myself. I think Minerva has hidden the worst from us. He is just so quiet. At the beginning of the month, he was afraid to ask for extra food if he was hungry. When we noticed, we started to leave snacks somewhere he could reach them. We made sure that he knew they were there, because he was just so scared of getting yelled at,” Remus was barely able to contain his anger. “Fuck, Pads, how can someone treat a kid like that?”

Sirius took the bottle and walked to the living room and sat down in one of the well worn chairs. He finished his drink and poured another glass. He handed the bottle to Remus, who took a swig. “I never wanted to have that in common with me. My parents were right bastards, but at least I knew what expectations they had for me. From what you all have told, Harry was never able to tell which way is up or down. Do you think he will remember the things that happened to him? My mind healer said that sometimes we block out things that are traumatic to protect ourselves.”

“I don’t know,” Remus replied, taking another drink. “I hope he doesn’t. I hope we are able to give him better memories.” 

_7.27_

Harry looked around in amazement. There was so much space. “Harry, do you want to pick out your room?” Sirius asked

“I get to pick?” Harry was surprised. 

“Of course,” Sirius replied. He held out his hand to Harry, who took it without hesitation. They walked through the bedrooms on the second floor until Harry found one he liked. He picked one with plenty of windows and plenty of space for Neville and Dora to come and play. Harry will be heartbroken when she goes off to Hogwarts in September. 

“Where will you sleep?” Harry asked curiously. He really wanted Remus and Sirius to stay there with them. 

“Let’s go find Moony and see what he thinks, yeah?” Harry nodded and took off search for Remus. “Is this the room, Moony?” Sirius asked as they wandered into the room across from Harry's. Remus nodded. “Let’s go see if we can find where Minnie is going to call home. I’ll race you,” and with that Sirius and Harry were off. 

“Padfoot, do not run in the house,” Remus called after them. The laughter in his voice negated all of the authority he was trying to convey.

\----------

“Neville!” Harry yelled excitedly when they made it back to Minerva’s Hogsmeade cottage.

“Minerva,” Augusta greeted, “Neville wanted to deliver his invitation to his birthday party in person. He refused to owl it.” She gave a rare smile to her grandson.  
“That is very nice, Neville. Harry’s having a party the day after for his birthday, let’s go inside so we can grab your invitation,” both boys ran inside. “Would you like some tea, Augusta?” asked Minerva. 

“If you don’t mind, I’m sure the boys would enjoy some time to play together,” the two women went into the kitchen and watched as the boys played.

\---------

Sirius and Remus were sitting in the headmasters office. “Ah, boys, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. Although, Remus, if you don’t mind, I would prefer if it were just myself and Sirius.”

Sirius scoffed, “Remus stays. What do you want?”

“Well, simply, I would like to discuss the custody arrangements of young Harry. He belongs with his family,” Albus explained. 

“I would like to preface what I say next with reminding you that I have the utmost respect as an educator, and I will be forever grateful for you allowing me to receive the education I would have otherwise been denied,” Remus paused and took a breath. “That being said, you have got to be off of your bloody rocker to think that any of us will allow Harry to go back to the Dursley’s. They starved him and made him sleep in a cupboard. I have had to reassure him that we would not be sending him away, because his relatives made him believe that he was unwanted and unloved.” Remus was yelling at this point, but he didn’t care. “He was afraid to tell us when he was hungry. How on earth would you justify sending him back to that fucking place?” 

“I’m surprised at you, Remus. I would expect this kind of outburst from Sirius, but never you. You always listened to reason,” Albus had to get at least one of them on his side. “Harry will be the safest -” he didn’t get the chance to finish. 

“You are bloody thick aren’t you? Did you not listen to a word that Remus said? Harry was not safe there. He will not be going back. You will have to get rid of us before any of us will allow it. There will be a long list of people for you to go through, too. Now, if you don’t have anything else, we will be leaving. You ready Moony?” Sirius stood up. Remus was still glaring at their former headmaster. 

“I don’t know why you think it’s so important for Harry to stay with the Dursley’s, but he is safer with us than he would be anywhere else,” Remus added and followed Sirius through the floo.

\--------

“That decrepit meddling bastard!” Remus yelled once they were back in Minerva’s cottage. “Can you believe him? Merlin, what the bloody hell is he thinking, wanting to send him back?”

“Rem, I’m just as angry as you are, but you have to pull yourself together before Harry gets back. Yeah?” Sirius pulled Remus into a hug. “Love, he isn’t going back. I won’t allow that to happen. He won’t be alone again, yeah?” Remus laid his head on top of Sirius’.

“When did you get to be so reasonable?” Remus asked with a laugh once he was able to get his voice under control. 

“Probably all of these bloody mind healer appointments,” he rolled his eyes. “At least I only have to go twice next week. Apparently, I am adjusting at a fast rate.” They sat next to each other on the couch. Sirius laid his head on Remus’ shoulder.

“Uncle Siri! Uncle Remy!” Harry greeted them with excitement. They were sitting close enough that Harry was able to climb and sit on both of their laps, “Neville is having a birthday too.” He showed them the invitation. Minerva was following behind Harry, and quickly grabbed Sirius’ camera. 

“That’s great pup, what do you say we go and pick him out a present for his party sometime tomorrow?” Harry nodded happily staring at his invitation. 

“Harry, go on and wash up and then we will eat dinner,” suggested Minerva. 

“Okay!” Harry climbed down and ran to the bathroom 

“You two look utterly exhausted,” observed Minerva. “I take it you the meeting with Albus didn’t go well?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“You could definitely say that,” answered Sirius, “Although, I was not the one to yell at him. Moony here had a lot of words for our esteemed headmaster. It as great,” he laughed

“You’re a git Sirius,” Remus said rolling his eyes. 

Minerva smiled and looked around for Harry before she cast a silencing spell, “Let me guess, he wants Harry to go back?” They both nodded. “He’s up to something,” she said shaking her head. She cancelled the charm. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” 

“Thank you, but not tonight. Sirius wants to start packing and moving some things into the house tomorrow. Apparently he has some surprises in store for all of us. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t exploded from not telling us yet,” he teased. 

Minerva laughed. “Come for breakfast before you start moving things, then we can plan the day.”

Harry hugged both of them, his tears were placated when he was told that they would be by for breakfast the next day.

\---------

Harry woke up from a nightmare. At least his room wasn’t dark this time. He looked up at the lights on his ceiling and decided that he was scared to be alone. He grabbed Prongs, and made his way to his Aunt Minnie’s room. He knew that only babies cried because of bad dreams, but maybe she could make it better

“Harry,” Minerva asked, concerned, “what’s wrong?” she looked at the toddler. It looked like he was trying not to cry. 

“Bad dream,” he wasn’t able to stop the silent tears that came out. Minerva wasted no time and picked him up. He wrapped his arms around her, and started crying more. 

“It’s alright, love. Bad dreams make me cry sometimes too,” she was rubbing circles on his back trying to sooth him.

“Can we stay here?” he hiccupped and loosened his hold on her. 

“Of course, you can,” she said tucking him in beside her. 

“Lights?” he asked quietly. Minerva cast the charm to make the dancing lights appear on the ceiling. Harry snuggled into her side, and before she knew it, he was fast asleep. She smiled and kissed the top of his head. Everything will work out.


	7. Happy Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's birthday time for our two favorite toddlers!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not expect to be away from this for so long, but I'm back! Thank you all for reading!

_7.30_  
“Amelia, thank you for seeing me,” Albus greeted the head of the DMLE. 

She gave him a smile, “I want to save you some time. You have no say or sway over the custody of Harry Potter. This has already been determined by his parents. Their wishes were disregarded once, and I will not allow that to happen again.” 

“Ah, well, I guess it would be best if we get right to it then,” he smiled as she nodded. 

“Albus,” she interrupted what she was sure would have been a well rehearsed speech designed to make her see reason. “This is not up for discussion. Sirius will be officially gaining custody of Harry.”

“Surely you can see that this is a mistake, Sirius is unstable,” he insists. 

“That is not an issue. What is actually an issue, is the fact that the proper channels weren’t followed in the first place,” she eyed her former headmaster. “Now, considering who you are and what your intentions were, I do not think anything will come of it. However, if you try to remove Harry from those who are his rightful guardians, none of that will matter. I will personally assure you that you get a trial, do you understand?”

“Please understand that I mean no harm. I just want to make sure that he is safe. The safest place for Harry is with his mother’s family,” he just had to make her understand. 

Amelia scoffed, “That is absolutely ridiculous. Have you seen him?” her professional facade dropped. “When I met Minerva at the Dursley’s he was terrified. He is so small, and he tried to make himself even smaller. It is a travesty that he was ever placed there in the first place. It took every bit of self control I had not to hex them right then and there. He will never go back. I’m sure that Minerva and Andromeda both have told you that,” her eyes were fiery. She could never imagine leaving a child in that sort of an environment. “I suggest that you spend some time with him, before you decide what is best for him, and then remember, it is not your place to determine with whom he belongs. His parents had a plan in place for this and their wishes are finally going to be honored. I trust you can see your way out?” He nodded, and left her office. 

“Madam Bones,” her secretary entered her office, “The Minister has requested your presence.”

\----------

Sirius was alone for the first time since he was released. Tomorrow would be Harry’s fourth birthday. He looked at the bottle in his hand and poured himself another drink. He had lost count of how many he was at, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was washing away the guilt he had been feeling. He had opted out of attending Neville’s birthday party; there would be too many people there. Sirius looked around the empty cottage, he should really be finishing setting up their new home, but here he sat drinking.

There was a knock on the door, Sirius stumbled to open it. He was met with the disapproving look of his cousin. “How much have you drank, Sirius?” Andy pushed past him and made her way to the kitchen. 

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Sirius mumbled, stumbling after her. Maybe he had drunk too much. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you.”

Andromeda was busy pouring the alcohol Sirius had purchased down the drain. “Well, it was mentioned to me that you would be alone this morning, and I wanted to check up on you,” she gave Sirius an appraising look. “It’s a good thing that I have. You are left alone for one morning and this is what happens? How much have you drank, Sirius?” She pulled out a bottle from her robes. “Drink this, it’s a sober up potion." 

Sirius did as he was told. "That tastes fucking terrible," he complained. 

"That's what you get for drinking so much. Do you want to tell me what's wrong? Minerva and Remus told me that you were doing well."

"So you talk about me? That's just great," he knew that they all cared, but that didn't stop him from feeling irrationally angry. 

"Sirius," Andromeda said softly, "come on, let's have a seat and drink some of this tea, yeah?" Sirius followed her to the living room. 

"I'm sorry, Andy. I never got to mourn James and Lily or really anyone we lost. Here I am moving into a new house with their son. Playing parent when they should be here. It's just… it's all moving so fast, and it's not that I don't want it. I'm terrified to screw everything up," he was tapping his foot like he would explode if he stopped. 

"It is a lot, and it’s okay for you to be scared. We are all here to help you. You love Harry so much and you are doing things you don't want to so you can better yourself for him," Sirius raised an eyebrow. Andromeda rolled her eyes, "You have never been one to talk about anything real outside of James and Remus, maybe Lily. But to anyone else, you postured; full of confidence and sarcasm. You never wanted anyone to know what you really thought. Here you are. You attend your mind healing sessions and you are opening up. I'm proud of you," she got up and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Now, can I trust you to be here alone until Remus gets back? I have a client to meet before Amelia stops by with paperwork for you to sign. Will you be here or at your new house?"

“I promise, Andy, I will be fine. I’ll be at the new house. Hopefully we will be able to get all of our stuff unpacked so we can enjoy Harry’s party tomorrow,” Sirius replied. He stared at the table. He could do better, and he would. He shrank a few boxes and put them in a bag, then he flooed to their new home. He had a birthday surprise for Harry, and he couldn’t wait to show him.  
\-----  
Harry had a firm grasp on Minerva’s hand. There were so many people here. He didn’t see Neville anywhere. He did see some familiar pink hair, and instantly grinned. “Aunt Kitty, can I go play with Dora?” 

“Let’s find Neville first, and then you can go play,” Harry nodded disappointedly. He didn’t like how all of the grownups were staring at him, so he tried to stay hidden in her robes. 

“Minerva, thank you for coming. You, young man, must be Harry. My grandson, Neville, has been talking about your playdates nonstop. Would you like to find him?” Harry looked up to see a smiling man with grey hair. He nodded quickly. “He’s in the garden, come this way.” They followed him to the garden where they found Neville sitting by himself. “Neville, I found someone,” he looked behind him and saw Dora, “make that two someones.” 

“Harry! Dora!” Neville smiled, normally his birthday parties just consisted of his family members. He was happy to have them here with him. 

“Hi Nev! Happy Birthday!” exclaimed Dora. 

“Yeah! Happy Birthday!” added Harry. 

“Alright, kids we will be right over there. Don’t go out of eyesight. Understand?” asked Neville’s grandfather. The kids nodded. 

“Dora, make sure you keep an eye out for them, okay?” added Minerva. She was nervous, but they would be able to see them from where the other adults were. 

“Of course Aunt Minnie,” Dora said with a slight roll of her eyes.

\----------

Minerva smiled, watching as the kids were played. “Augusta and I were talking, and we have noticed a huge difference in how Neville has been at home since he and Harry have been having playdates. He talks about him and Ms. Tonks all of the time,” stated Richard Lonbottom. Augusta nodded in agreement.

“Harry has too. He was terrified at first, but I think his favorite days are when they get to play together,” they watched the kids play until it was time for Neville to blow out his candles and open his presents.

\----------

Sirius stood in the new house waiting for Remus. They were supposed to do some last minute birthday present shopping after Remus placed some more applications. Remus finally walked in with Amelia Bones. “Sirius, it’s nice to see you again, you are looking well,” stated Amelia as she entered the room.

“Madame Bones,” he said with a forced smile.

She laughed, “Amelia is fine, Sirius” Remus moved by Sirius, laughing as he took his hand. “I thought Andy would beat me here,” Sirius saw the paperwork in her hands. “Once she gets here, we will get the last bit of paperwork out of the way, and everything will be official.” 

As if on cue, Andromeda walked in the room. “Sorry, I’m late. I didn’t think my meeting would take as long as it did,” She greeted as she stepped out of the floo. “I have to pick up Dora from Minerva’s, so let’s hurry this up.”

Amelia laughed along with Sirius and Remus. “I will have you all know that you are having me do things that are out of my department, but Albus keeps snooping around, so I would rather make sure this is taken care of before he gets any ideas. Since no one is contesting custody, there will be no trial, just paperwork,” she followed the group into the kitchen and they all sat at the table. She waved her wand and made copies of the paperwork. “This custody agreement states that you will have primary guardianship/custody of Harry. It also states that Minerva has secondary guardianship/custody of Harry. I understand that you all have discussed this and know what it means. It also states that if anything happens to the two of you, Remus will be given custody of Harry, followed by Andromeda. If for some reason neither are able to have custody of him, then Augusta Longbottom will be the next in line. This is abnormal, but considering the child in question, it will be helpful to make sure that everything is in line.” Without hesitation, Sirius signs the original copy of the paperwork.

“Thank you, Amy. Once the official ministry seal is on it, I will need a copy for my records, then one for Gringotts, and two more for Sirius and Minerva.” 

“I will have them sent over as soon as it’s complete,” Amelia replied as she got out of her seat to leave. “If any of you have any questions, please let me know.”

“I do, but it’s not related,” Remus began, “Andy mentioned that you have a niece about Harry’s age?” She nodded. “Would you both like to come to Harry’s party tomorrow? I think it will be great to have more kids Harry’s age around.”

“I believe we can make it. Susan could use some more playmates as well,” answered Amelia. Remus jotted down the details and handed them to her.  
“There won’t be a big crowd, just the Longbottoms, Andy and her family, and the three of us. Harry doesn’t do well with too many people at the moment,” Sirius explained. “If I’m being honest, I don’t either.”

“We will see you all tomorrow,” she waved goodbye and left. 

“Now, Sirius, I still haven’t received a tour, and that is very rude,” Andy stated with a mock glare. 

“Come on, I’ll show you around while he finishes whatever he was trying to do,” laughed Remus as he offered his arm to her and showed her around the house.

\----------

_7.31_

Minerva, Sirius, and Remus sat in the living room waiting for Harry to wake up. “Sirius, I think you’re more excited than Harry,” laughed Remus. Sirius was bouncing in his seat. 

“Moony, he is taking so long to wake up. Can’t I just go and wake him up?” asked Sirius impatiently. 

“Absolutely not. Sirius Black, sit still. It is too early for you to be bouncing like that,” Minerva stated tiredly. 

“Padfoot, just let him sleep,” Remus encouraged. “Why don’t you go check on his birthday breakfast, yeah? Make sure everything is ready for him.”

“Fine,” pouted Sirius as he made his way to the kitchen with both Minerva and Remus shaking their heads. 

“I can’t blame him though. I would be willing to bet that this is the first birthday since Harry turned one that someone has cared enough to celebrate with him,” as he finished laughing and barking came from Harry’s room. They made their way to Harry’s room, camera in hand. 

Sirius and Remus had decorated it early that morning, filling the room with balloons, confetti, and streamers. When they entered the room, they found Harry laughing with a large black dog standing over him, licking his face. “Sirius,” Minerva stated as firmly as she could while trying to hold back a laugh, “let the poor boy breathe.” 

Harry looked around his room and saw the decorations, his eyes grew wide as he drank everything in. “Do you like it pup?” aske Sirius hopefully. Harry just nodded. Still unsure as to what was going on. 

“Happy Birthday, cub,” added Remus.  
“Wow! This is for my birthday?” Harry asked. He couldn’t believe it. No one had remembered his birthday before. Since Sirius was still sitting beside him, he climbed on to his lap. He was unsure of walking through the balloons. Sensing his hesitation, Sirius made his way to the floor, still holding Harry. Harry gripped him a little tighter, but started to relax when balloons started to be tossed around. He got up and started to dance around in the balloons. 

“Who’s ready for breakfast?” asked Minerva after taking some pictures. Harry ran to her asking to be picked up. She picked him up and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Happy Birthday, love. Let’s go see what Sirius made for breakfast, shall we?”

\----------

With breakfast and lunch behind them, it was time to start getting the backyard ready for Harry’s party. Sirius and Minerva took charge of that while Remus tried to convince Harry that he should take a nap.

“No. Not sleepy,” Harry said as he settled his head between Remus’ head and shoulder and stifled a yawn.

“I can tell. How about we just lay here and I tell you a story, yeah?” Harry nodded as he was placed underneath his covers. Remus started to tell Harry one of his favorite childhood stories, and the birthday boy fell asleep almost immediately. He set the monitoring charms that Minerva had shown him and made his way outside to help get the party set up. 

“You two didn’t waste any time,” Remus said as he looked around the backyard. It looked like a birthday card threw up everywhere. There was a section of the small backyard set up to build a fort and have water fights, plenty of decorations, and a build your own cupcake station. 

“I wish I could take credit for this. It was all Sirius,” replied Minerva. 

“Do you think Harry will like it, Moony?” Sirius asked. 

“I’ve told him multiple times that Harry will love it,” Minerva stated in her matter of fact way. Sirius and Remus sometimes had a hard time reconciling the professor they knew to the woman in front of them. It reminded them that there was always more to someone's personality than what meets the eye. 

“She’s right. I think he will love it, but I would like to point out that there are only going to be 4 kids here. Three of the 4 are under the age of 5,” Remus answered as he sat beside Sirius on the ground. Sirius immediately leaned into him and took his hand. 

“Speak for yourself. I’m going to have just as much fun as then kids,” laughed Sirius.

\----------

Harry stared around the backyard with wide eyes. He couldn’t believe all of this was for him. There were games and they would get to decorate their own cupcakes! Even though this is the first birthday party that he remembered, he was pretty sure that it was the best one he ever had. Certainly better than any Dudley had ever had thrown. “Where Nev and Dora?” he asked excitedly. Even better than his birthday, he had friends to share it with.

“They’ll be here soon, love. You also have a new friend coming over. Do you remember the woman who helped me bring you home?” Harry nodded hesitantly. “Well, she has a niece your age, who loves coming to people’s birthday parties. Is it okay that she come along as well?” Harry thought for a second. All of the new friends he had been introduced to were nice, so he decided that it would be okay.

“Harry!” came a yell from the house, “Happy Birthday!” The eleven year old with pink hair was just as excited as the toddler.

“Neville, dear, don’t run,” came another voice. 

“Sorry, gran,” came the shy reply from Neville. When he saw Harry, he immediately grinned, “Happy Birthday!” despite being only four, Neville had a grasp on pronunciation and sounded grown up to Harry. He was always trying to copy the way Neville spoke. 

“Wanna play?” Harry asked Dora and Neville. Neville shook his head excitedly and started going towards the sandbox, where they normally spent their afternoons. 

“Hold up, kiddos. We have some surprises, but first we are one kid short,” Sirius didn’t want to start until the last edition got there. 

“My apologies, Susan couldn’t decide on what to get Harry,” came Amelia’s voice as she came into the backyard with Remus following behind. 

“How dare you, Amy?” scoffed Ted Tonks. “A whole 30 seconds late? The horror!” Andromeda playfully smacked her husband in the chest. 

“Ignore him. Susan, would you like to meet the other kids?” 

Unlike Harry and Neville, Susan was not shy. She made her way over to the three mismatched kids and immediately introduced herself. “Hi! I’m Susan!” 

Harry mumbled his name with a shy smile; Neville, being the pureblood grandson of Augusta Longbottom, clearly introduced himself and shook her hand (which made her giggle); and Dora, well Dora was definitely more enthusiastic “I’m Dora! Question, what’s your favorite color?” 

“Bright blue!” came the answer from the newcomer. Dora immediately changed her hair to the shade and she had a new admirer. 

“Alright,” Sirius bounded over to join the group. “We have a couple of games set up, and since Harry is the birthday boy, we figured we would let him choose first!” Harry’s eyes grew wide. He didn’t think he would ever get used to this. “We can have a water fight, play pin the ears on Padfoot,” groans came from the adults who were in the know, and smiles from the boys who knew what that meant, “or we can build a fort!”

Harry stood there contemplating. This was a big decision, and he didn’t want to say the wrong thing and make his friends upset. Neville leaned over and whispered to him as quietly as a new four year old could, “Pick the fort!” Harry smiled, and repeated the answer that he was given. They all sounded fun to him. 

“Fort it is. How about after we do ‘Pin the Ears on Padfoot,’ followed by food, cake and presents. Then we can have a water fight!” with excited yells from the kids, off they went to build what Sirius thought was the most magnificent fort in existence.

\----------

Remus was exhausted. Part of him hoped that Harry never made more friends, because the three 4 year olds and one 11 year old were exhausting enough. He looked at Harry, who was lying with his head on Minerva’s lap fast asleep. He must have fallen asleep immediately after she started reading to him. He and Sirius had just finished cleaning up the backyard and after Harry was put to bed, they were going over to the new house to make sure everything was ready for Harry and Minerva to move in the rest of their things. “Looks like he’s conked out,” Remus whispered.

“He fell asleep as soon as he laid down. I have not had the heart to move him yet,” she looked at the time. “It does appear to be awfully late. Can you grab him?” 

Remus nodded, picked Harry up, and carried him into his room. He tucked him in and placed a kiss on his forehead. After making sure that Prongs was within grabbing distance, he placed the charm on the room that gave off soft dancing lights and left the room. 

“Do you have anything you want us to take over tonight, Minnie?” Sirius was asking as Remus made his way back to the couch. 

“Just those boxes over there. I think that is everything,” she said with a yawn 

“Goodnight, Minnie, we will see you both in the morning,” Sirius replied as he and Remus shrank down the boxes and headed through the floo to their new home.


End file.
